Estimating the size and structure of the underground commercial sex economy in eight major US cities

In 2010, the National Institute of Justice funded the Urban Institute's Justice Policy Center to measure the size and structure of the underground commercial sex economy in eight major US cities. The goals of this study were to: (1) derive a more rigorous estimate of the underground commercial sex economy (UCSE) in eight major US cities and (2) provide an understanding of the structure of this underground economy.