In the first post I did for Dollars and Sex, Do Women Really Value Income Over Looks in a Mate?, I wrote about how dating sites provide a wealth of data for analyzing individual preferences on mate choice. At that time, I discussed whether or not income matters for women who are looking for a partner. That analysis was based on the US market and, I would argue, the results are very specific to western countries. In other nations, particularly those where many still live at—or close to—a subsistence level, the concepts of marriage and income are inextricably entwined. India is such a country.
Month: September 2010 (Page 2 of 2)
An advocate for sex-trade workers in Halifax, where I live, tells me that there is no market at all for unprotected sex in the city: one hundred percent of transactions in the sex trade here is sex with a condom. As any good economics student will tell you, a market clears at the point at which supply is equal to demand. If there are no transactions, it must be true that there is no price a potential buyer of condom-less sex is willing to pay that a seller is willing accept. Of course, it could also be the case that there is just no demand for that particular product, but I think we all know that isn’t the case.