From today's Spiegel, a somewhat shocking news item as a German (uncreatively-named) brothel tries a new strategy to attract clients:

The city's "Pussy Club" has made headlines in the local press by giving clients unlimited access to all its ladies for €70, which includes an all-you-can-eat-and-drink offer, in a bid to weather Germany's worst economic slump since World War II . . .

"Seventy euros, that includes everything -- ladies, drinks and food," a member of staff contacted by phone told SPIEGEL ONLINE, confirming media reports. The offer runs during off-peak times. On weekdays it applies between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. On weekends, it's extended by an hour until five p.m.

The story points to the fact that, as the global economic downturn intensifies, it's putting industries that were formerly deemed "recession-proof" under more and more pressure. Gambling is one such industry, and sex is another. In December, the NY Times ran an article focusing on the decline in sex business that pointed out that Artemis, Berlin's biggest brothel, had noticed a 20% decrease in revenue in 2008 for the same period in 2007 -- and that the famous Mustang Ranch in Nevada had laid off 30% of its staff. Larry Flynt, more famously, has recently asked for a porn bailout.

But the downturn -- and this item in particular -- also raises questions about the well-being of the sex workers themselves (I can't imagine that they're happy about being offered as part of a 70 Euro all-you-can-eat buffet).

In a post about sex work during Argentina's market downturn, the Economist noted that:

The most interesting part is that the market is counter cyclical. In bad times more (and more attractive) women enter the market, but they have a higher reservation wage, so they charge more. Less attractive and even cheaper prostitutes may still be available, but for a variety of very good reasons, the customer will not desire the cheapest option, suggesting prostitution services can be classified as a Giffen good.

A Giffen Good, by the way, is something that people consume more of as price rises (counter to the law of demand).

This means that as the global recession deepens, more and more women will be entering the sex trade -- from a variety of backgrounds, and with a variety of prices. (A more recent Economist post notes an increased "elasticity" in the price of New York sex workers and an uptick on the number of escorts claiming to have been previously employed in the "financial services industry").

Unfortunately, as women from different backgrounds stream into the industry, this is bad news for those that are already on its margins ("the cheapest option" as the Economist put it). They will likely be pushed further down and out -- putting them at greater risk for abuse and making them easier to take advantage of by clients and pimps.

A push to legalize and regulate prostitution, however, could potentially help keep those women out of harm's way. As the Times noted, in the Czech Republic hotel owners are bemoaning the loss of sex tourism, and hoping sex work will be legalized for financial reasons. (Germany only recently made them legal). And though San Francisco's recent attempt to decriminalize sex work failed, if there's an influx of women from other professions where greater rights and respectability are the norm, perhaps they'll take initiative, and create a grassroots movement here in the US. Maybe the time has finally come for an American sex workers' union?