UC San Diego

This dissertation studies responses to uncertainty and incomplete information in the context of female sex markets. Chapter 1 studies the impact of violent conflict on risky sexual behavior and considers implications of the results for expected utility models. Chapter 2 considers the theoretical model underlying sex work “legalization and regulation”, a common program that provides government certification of sex workers’ health, and shows that key assumptions of the model are not satisfied. Finally, using data from Ecuador, chapter 3 studies whether and how information about sex workers' health is transmitted in sex markets.