Prostitution: A Policy Consideration

Abstract

Prostitution is a part of essentially every human society and currently in the United States almost the entirety states hold a prohibitionist stance towards it. Across several studies there has been a quite a collective of resulting conclusions that the prohibition of prostitution creates adverse conditions not only to the prostitutes but to the public as well. With the above framework as the focus, this paper utilizes a cost benefit analysis to provide a determination whether the prohibitionist model truly is better for the United States or if a substitutive model like the legalization or decriminalization of prostitution. After the variables where determined and quantified when possible, the selected tests to form the viability determination of the alternative models where the Net Present Values, the Cost Benefit Ratios, and the Internal Rate of Return. The analysis showed that both alternative models to the prohibitionist model are more beneficial with decriminalization resulting being the most beneficial. It was also considered that since the calculations for the decriminalization scenario have more unpredictable factors that the legalization scenario would provide a more reliable and still beneficial result.