Risk and reward in the Thai sex industry

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between commercial sex workers and their employers using the results of interviews with 83 commercial sex workers from 35 establishments in the Bangkok area. The intentions were to gain insight into the motivations and working conditions of the workers and to see whether the nature of the employment relation gives support to the mainstream economic theory of “implicit contracts” concerning labour exchanges that occur in a risky world. Despite the existence of obvious risks (e.g. contracting HIV/AIDS) there is little evidence of risk‐sharing implicit contracts. This could in part be explained by the ignorance of risks shown by commercial sex workers. But even where, in the case of the poorest prostitutes, there is apparent evidence of risk‐sharing, it is argued that this is better explained in terms of a theory of debt‐bondage.