TY  - RPRT
        AU  - Carroni, Elias
AU  - Giusta, Marina Della
AU  - Dragone, Davide
        TI  - An Economic Theory of Sexual Exchanges and Human Capital
        PY  - 2025/Jul/
        PB  - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        CY  - Bonn
        T2  - IZA Discussion Paper
        IS  - 18002
        UR  - https://www.iza.org/publications/dp18002
        AB  - We develop a rational choice model of sexual exchange that unifies marriage and paid sex, explaining two key facts: the gendered segregation of sex markets and the decline in sexual activity and fertility. Individuals choose whether to engage in paid or unpaid sex based on income, human capital, and social norms. Gendered patterns emerge endogenously from the asymmetric distributions of these traits. The model also shows how the rise of digital sex reduces the cost of supplying sex, increases market participation, and reallocates time away from unpaid intimacy—leading to lower fertility even without biological constraints.
        KW  - sexual exchanges
KW  - fertility
KW  - gender norms
KW  - human capital
KW  - sex buyer
KW  - sex work
        ER  -