IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hhs/hasite/0063.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

International Spillovers from Prostitution Regulation: The "Nordic Model" and Sex Tourism

Author

Listed:
  • Perrotta Berlin, Maria

    (Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics)

  • Latour, Chiara

    (Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics)

  • Spagnolo, Giancarlo

    (Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics)

Abstract

We investigate the causal effect of the asymmetric criminalization of prostitution on sex tourism. We exploit legal reforms in five countries that switched from systems where prostitution was legal (Norway, Sweden, Ireland, Canada), or where only buying sex was legal (France), to the “Nordic model” where only buying is criminalized. Using a difference-in-differences approach on data from Google trends and tourism statistics, we estimate the impact of the reforms on tourism flows to neighboring countries and popular sex tourism destinations. We find significant effects for countries where prostitution was legal, but not for France where selling sex was prohibited.

Suggested Citation

  • Perrotta Berlin, Maria & Latour, Chiara & Spagnolo, Giancarlo, 2023. "International Spillovers from Prostitution Regulation: The "Nordic Model" and Sex Tourism," SITE Working Paper Series 63, Stockholm School of Economics, Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics, revised 25 Sep 2023.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:hasite:0063
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://swopec.hhs.se/hasite/papers/hasite0063.1.pdf
    File Function: Full text
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Konstantin A. Kholodilin & Maximilian Podstawski & Boriss Siliverstovs, 2010. "Do Google Searches Help in Nowcasting Private Consumption?: A Real-Time Evidence for the US," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 997, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    2. Card, David & Krueger, Alan B, 1994. "Minimum Wages and Employment: A Case Study of the Fast-Food Industry in New Jersey and Pennsylvania," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(4), pages 772-793, September.
    3. Clément de Chaisemartin & Xavier D'Haultfœuille, 2020. "Two-Way Fixed Effects Estimators with Heterogeneous Treatment Effects," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 110(9), pages 2964-2996, September.
    4. Damian Clarke & Kathya Tapia-Schythe, 2021. "Implementing the panel event study," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 21(4), pages 853-884, December.
    5. Zhuang Hao & Benjamin W. Cowan, 2020. "The Cross‐Border Spillover Effects Of Recreational Marijuana Legalization," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 58(2), pages 642-666, April.
    6. Miron, Jeffrey A, 1999. "Violence and the U.S. Prohibitions of Drug and Alcohol," American Law and Economics Review, American Law and Economics Association, vol. 1(1-2), pages 78-114, Fall.
    7. Brodeur, Abel & Clark, Andrew E. & Fleche, Sarah & Powdthavee, Nattavudh, 2021. "COVID-19, lockdowns and well-being: Evidence from Google Trends," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    8. Damian Clarke & Kathya Tapia-Schythe, 2021. "Implementing the panel event study," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 21(4), pages 853-884, December.
    9. Scott Cunningham & Manisha Shah, 2018. "Decriminalizing Indoor Prostitution: Implications for Sexual Violence and Public Health," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 85(3), pages 1683-1715.
    10. Hyunyoung Choi & Hal Varian, 2012. "Predicting the Present with Google Trends," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 88(s1), pages 2-9, June.
    11. Goodman-Bacon, Andrew, 2021. "Difference-in-differences with variation in treatment timing," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 225(2), pages 254-277.
    12. Naranjo, Alberto J., 2010. "Spillover effects of domestic law enforcement policies," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 265-275, September.
    13. Immordino, G. & Russo, F.F., 2015. "Regulating prostitution: A health risk approach," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 14-31.
    14. Cho, Seo-Young & Dreher, Axel & Neumayer, Eric, 2013. "Does Legalized Prostitution Increase Human Trafficking?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 67-82.
    15. Kotsadam, Andreas & Jakobsson, Niklas, 2011. "Do laws affect attitudes? An assessment of the Norwegian prostitution law using longitudinal data," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 103-115, June.
    16. Jeremy Ginsberg & Matthew H. Mohebbi & Rajan S. Patel & Lynnette Brammer & Mark S. Smolinski & Larry Brilliant, 2009. "Detecting influenza epidemics using search engine query data," Nature, Nature, vol. 457(7232), pages 1012-1014, February.
    17. Samuel Lee & Petra Persson, 2022. "Human Trafficking and Regulating Prostitution," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 14(3), pages 87-127, August.
    18. Melissa Dell, 2015. "Trafficking Networks and the Mexican Drug War," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(6), pages 1738-1779, June.
    19. Brian Knight, 2013. "State Gun Policy and Cross-State Externalities: Evidence from Crime Gun Tracing," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 5(4), pages 200-229, November.
    20. Callaway, Brantly & Sant’Anna, Pedro H.C., 2021. "Difference-in-Differences with multiple time periods," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 225(2), pages 200-230.
    21. Lena Edlund & Evelyn Korn, 2002. "A Theory of Prostitution," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 110(1), pages 181-214, February.
    22. Patricia Funk, 2007. "Is There An Expressive Function of Law? An Empirical Analysis of Voting Laws with Symbolic Fines," American Law and Economics Review, American Law and Economics Association, vol. 9(1), pages 135-159.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Rik Chakraborti & Gavin Roberts, 2023. "How price-gouging regulation undermined COVID-19 mitigation: county-level evidence of unintended consequences," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 196(1), pages 51-83, July.
    2. Leschnig, Lisa & Schwerdt, Guido & Zigova, Katarina, 2022. "Central exams and adult skills: Evidence from PIAAC," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    3. ITO Tadashi & TANAKA Ayumu, 2023. "Inward Foreign Direct Investment, Transactions, and Domestic Firms' Performance: Evidence from firm-to-firm transaction linkage," Discussion papers 23026, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    4. David Escamilla-Guerrero & Edward Kosack & Zachary Ward, 2023. "The Impact of Violence during the Mexican Revolution on Migration to the United States," NBER Working Papers 31531, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Costi, Chiara & Hollingsworth, Bruce & O'Sullivan, Vincent & Zucchelli, Eugenio, 2023. "Does caring for others affect our mental health? Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 321(C).
    6. Marcus Roller, Daniel Steinberg, 2023. "Differences-in-Differences with multiple Treatments under Control," Diskussionsschriften credresearchpaper41, Universitaet Bern, Departement Volkswirtschaft - CRED.
    7. He, Guojun & Peng, Wenwei, 2022. "Guns and roses: Police complicity in organized prostitution," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 207(C).
    8. Sonnabend, Hendrik & Stadtmann, Georg, 2018. "Good intentions and unintended evil? Adverse effects of criminalizing clients in paid sex markets with voluntary and involuntary prostitution," Discussion Papers 400, European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder), Department of Business Administration and Economics.
    9. Roth, Jonathan & Sant’Anna, Pedro H.C. & Bilinski, Alyssa & Poe, John, 2023. "What’s trending in difference-in-differences? A synthesis of the recent econometrics literature," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 235(2), pages 2218-2244.
    10. Clarke, Damian & Larroulet, Pilar & Pailañir, Daniel & Quintana, Daniela, 2023. "Schools as Safety Nets: Break-Downs and Recovery in Reporting of Violence against Children," IZA Discussion Papers 15859, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Myungkou Shin, 2022. "Finitely Heterogeneous Treatment Effect in Event-study," Papers 2204.02346, arXiv.org, revised Oct 2024.
    12. Dalia Ghanem & Pedro H. C. Sant'Anna & Kaspar Wüthrich, 2022. "Selection and Parallel Trends," CESifo Working Paper Series 9910, CESifo.
    13. Liyang Sun & Jesse M. Shapiro, 2022. "A Linear Panel Model with Heterogeneous Coefficients and Variation in Exposure," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 36(4), pages 193-204, Fall.
    14. Guillaume Gueguen & Claudia Senik, 2023. "Adopting telework: The causal impact of working from home on subjective well‐being," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 61(4), pages 832-868, December.
    15. Riccardo Ciacci, 2024. "Banning the purchase of sex increases cases of rape: evidence from Sweden," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 37(2), pages 1-30, June.
    16. Riccardo Ciacci, 2023. "On the economic determinants of prostitution: marriage compensation and unilateral divorce in U.S. states," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 21(3), pages 941-1017, September.
    17. Perrotta Berlin, Maria & Spagnolo, Giancarlo & Immordino, Giovanni & F. Russo, Francesco, 2019. "Retraction of: "Prostitution and Violence: Evidence from Sweden"," SITE Working Paper Series 52, Stockholm School of Economics, Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics, revised 27 Jun 2023.
    18. Fone, Zachary S. & Sabia, Joseph J. & Cesur, Resul, 2023. "The unintended effects of minimum wage increases on crime," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 219(C).
    19. Gomes, Matheus da Costa & Valle, Mauricio Ribeiro do, 2023. "Do companies that benefit from development banks' funding invest more? New evidence from Brazil," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    20. Bas Scheer & Wiljan van den Berge & Maarten Goos & Alan Manning & Anna Salomons, 2022. "Alternative Work Arrangements and Worker Outcomes: Evidence from Payrolling," CPB Discussion Paper 435, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Prostitution law; Nordic model; Sex tourism; Google Trends; Policy spillovers;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D04 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Microeconomic Policy: Formulation; Implementation; Evaluation
    • K14 - Law and Economics - - Basic Areas of Law - - - Criminal Law

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:hhs:hasite:0063. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Dominick Nilsson (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/sihhsse.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.