The following is comment posted on "The Economist" web site from August, 31st 2011: "As with cocaine use, the price elas

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The Following Is Comment Posted On The Economist Web Site From August 31st 2011 As With Cocaine Use The Price Elas 1 (101.83 KiB) Viewed 11 times

The following is comment posted on "The Economist" web site from August, 31st 2011: "As with cocaine use, the price elasticity of demand for prostitution is probably pretty low, so the demand curve is close to vertical. That means price won't affect demand much at all." From what you have learned online and in class on the coverage of elasticity, in this week's discussion please do the following: 1) Analyze and critique the comment through the prism of the concept of elasticity of price. Would demand in each of these markets be perfectly inelastic or as the commentor states is "close" to being perfectly inelastic? How might criminal treatment of these market activities from state-to-state or country-to- country, impact the overall elasticity demand of these activities? 2) From the discussion and applying the concept of the elasticity of price, does the comment have economic merit and strengthens or weakens the argument for the legalization and regulation of certain narcotics and the sex trade (i.e. prostitution) for the purpose of tax collection? Consider other states in the U.S. and countries that have adopted similar regulatory programs for public health policy and tax revenue collection. Would such "de-criminalization followed with regulation, introduce more competing variety in the marketplace causing the demand for such