http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21611074-how-new-technology-shaking-up-oldest-business-more-bang-your-buck

TL;DR: The internet has transformed the sex industry and made it easier for everyone to transact business. Prices have been declining for years due to the economic downturn of 2007, greater supply, international competition, and ease of finding NSA "Tinder" sex in this day and age. Prices can vary widely depending on race, body type, hair color, nastiness of sexual acts, and even education.

My take on it:

The market pricing of prostitutes is very important to all men, even if you don't partake in them, because it establishes a ceiling on the price of sex, and it puts an explicit dollar amount on SMV. This can affect your life directly in many ways:

  • You're wining and dining a woman when you realize that she's costing you more per meeting than a high-end prostitute - and she's not having sex with you. You have options, and you decide to cut your losses.
  • Your friend has gone through divorce and will end up losing $250k-$millions of his net worth over his lifetime, and on top of that, he was in a dead bedroom. It's a simple calculation to see how many nice escorts you could have seen for this amount of money. You can usually get years of service, if not decades, for what a typical divorce would cost. This may factor into your decision as to whether to get married - is she worth it?
  • You're SMV is rock-bottom and you have to pay for all of your sex. You have no options. You can easily calculate how much your low SMV is costing you, and use this as motivation to improve.
  • You're able to pull a large variety of hot women into threesomes for the nastiest sex - the kind of activities that would cost a fortune if you paid for them. You can actually look at this as a form of hidden income and calculate your extra "income" due to your high SMV.
  • You decide to "go Galt" from the sexual marketplace. Now you can live on next to nothing. You no longer have sex on a regular basis, but perhaps the price is no longer worth it for you.

Long term trends will probably continue to depress prices in this industry due to the following:

  • It's going to be tougher making a living as technology marches forward. Fast-food restaurants are already automating and eliminating the need for staff. Auto-driving cars will eliminate the need for taxi drivers. Low-end jobs will be disappearing as robotics becomes more sophisticated, leaving only jobs that require high skill and education. Prostitution will remain the only low-end job available, and even that industry is not safe once technology becomes sufficiently advanced to make sex robots. With less low-end jobs available in the future, more and more women will turn to prostitution. (Increase in supply)
  • The bad economy is also going to reduce the disposable income of the average Joe - and prostitution is very much a luxury and not a necessity. (Reduction in demand)
  • Hypergamy - with the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer, there will be less eligible men in the eyes of women. More women will remain single and be forced to support themselves. (Increase in supply)
  • The pornification of the world - with porn rampant on the internet, sex has become less precious and more of a commodity, and this will lessen the moral barrier for entry into the prostitution industry as time goes on. (Increase in supply)
  • The free porn available on the internet is also an alternative to seeing a prostitute, albeit a poor one. Still, it is easy and anonymous and there is no risk of disease. (Reduction in demand)
  • Masturbation devices are coming online and are getting more sophisticated as technology advances. Soon they'll be hooked up to VR-type experiences and eliminate the need for many men to see prostitutes. (Reduction in demand)
  • NSA sex will become easier to obtain as the world loosens its sexual morals. (Reduction in demand)
  • Globalization, technology, trade agreements/treaties, and low-cost airlines will make it even easier for women around the world to compete (at least until we hit Peak Oil). Prostitution is one of the lowest-skill jobs there is, and women around the world are on the exact same playing field in terms of their ability to offer equivalent services. (Increase in supply)