This paper studies how recessions impact the supply of sex work. I consider a historical recession that was geographically localized in the British textile region. To measure the size of the market, I digitize new data on the locations of establishments where sex work occurred across Britain. The recession led to approximately twelve more establishments per 100,000 people in exposed counties. Informal establishments, such as pubs, account for three-fourths of the increase while brothels account for approximately 25%. I provide suggestive evidence that an outward shift in supply as well as changes in the marriage market contribute to the increase.

In the late 1800s, local leaders in the United States established red-light districts to confine prostitution within cities. Progressive Era reformers began lobbying against this policy, arguing they made health and crime worse, which precipitated the closure of these districts in the 1910s. This paper assesses the public health consequences of closing red-light districts using city-level mortality statistics. I find that infant mortality increased by approximately 7% after closure. Congenital syphilis was a significant problem during the period, and this finding is consistent with increased syphilis transmission. Overall, the results suggest the public health concerns raised by reformers were overstated.

Public health interventions often involve a trade-off between improving health and protecting individual rights. We study this trade-off in a high-stakes setting: prostitution regulations aimed at reducing the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in Victorian Britain. These regulations, known as the Contagious Disease Acts (CDAs), introduced a system of registration of sex workers, compulsory medical inspections, and the involuntary confinement of infected workers, in a legal market for sex. The first part of our analysis shows that the CDAs led to substantial public health improvements. However, despite their effectiveness, the CDAs were ultimately repealed. The second part of our study examines the causes of this repeal. We show that repeal was driven by concerns about the violation of the basic rights of sex workers and unequal treatment relative to men who purchased sex. These findings emphasize that the success of a public health intervention depends not only on its effectiveness as a sanitary measure but also on how the costs of the regulation are distributed.

This paper studies the impact of career concerns on technological change by analyzing the adoption of digital cinematography in the US motion picture industry. This setting allows us to collect rich data on the adoption of this new technology at the project-level (i.e., movie) as well as on the career of the main decision maker (i.e., director). We find that early career directors played a leading role in the adoption of digital technology and that this effect appears to be explained by career concerns, rather than alternative motives we consider and analyze. Technological savvy also plays a role.