Seminar: Strip Club Economics

Taggert J. Brooks (Economics) will present “In Da Club: An Econometric Analysis of Strip Club Patrons” Friday May 1st at 3:30 in CWH 230. The talk will cover the paper specifically and the adult entertainment industry more generally.

Abstract:

Experimental researchers find choice inconsistency among males after exposure to sexual cues. Men alter their rate of time preference or their willingness to accept unfair offers in the ultimatum game, after the mere viewing of pictures of attractive or “sexy” women (Wilson and Daly, 2004; Van Den Bergh and Dewitte, 2006). In this paper I try to identify the characteristics of individuals who expose themselves to similar treatments outside the lab. I do this by focusing on individuals who attend clubs that feature nude or semi-nude dancers.

Conservative estimates from the National Health and Social Life Survey (NHSLS) suggest 17 million Americans went to a club that featured nude or semi-nude dancers in 1991. I estimate a demographic logit model using the NHSLS which is the first and only national probability based sample which asks people if they have attended a strip club and their frequency of attendance. The results suggest the types of men who expose themselves to such venues are also more likely to alter their choices in the face of sexual cues.

Funny Video

I Love College

See the video here.

Economic Recovery Dashboard

Keep an eye on our recovery here.

Public-Private Investment Partnership is a little too private

An opinion piece in today's Wall Street Journal discusses how only large fund managers will be able to participate in the Treasury's new partnership. Instead of creating a liquid market for bad assets, the Treasury is limiting the buyers and backing them with government money.
See the article here.
We'll be discussing this at the Econ club meeting on Wednesday, April 1 at 5:30 in 114 CWH.

Some articles on the current crisis.

NY Time Op-Ed by Paul Krugman 3-30-2009

America the Tarnished

An article by Simon Johnson in The Atlantic May 2009 (This is a good one)

The Quiet Coup

NY Time Op-Ed by Joseph Stiglitz 4-01-2009

Obama’s Ersatz Capitalism