Risk attitude, risky behaviour and price determination in the sex market: A case study of Yangon, Myanmar

Abstract

Commercial sex is a prevalent but risky profession in many countries, including Myanmar. Although risk attitude is a potentially important factor in determining risky behaviour of female sex workers (FSWs), few studies have explicitly investigated the issue. This is one of the first studies to elicit the risk attitude of FSWs using a simple risk game. We conducted the risk game with FSWs in Yangon, Myanmar, where the average GDP per capita is very low, to study how risk attitude is related with observable characteristics and with risky behaviour related to the use of condoms in the commercial sex market. We found that risk attitude is relatively independent of observable characteristics and the decision to use a condom. However, transaction prices were directly associated with risk attitude.