Drugs, prostitution worth £10bn to British economy
The inclusion of illegal activities such as prostitution and
drugs into national accounts would add about 10 billion pounds (12.3 billion
euros, $16.7 billion) to national output, Britain's statistics office said on
Thursday.
In a paper in which it estimated prostitutes'
"sales" and costs incurred -- condoms and "working
clothes"-- the Office of National Statistics (ONS) said the inclusion of
such activities was part of a raft of improvements to the way the economy will
be measured from September.
The adjustments bring Britain's estimates of Gross Domestic
Product -- or national economic output -- more into line with other European
countries, where some activities such as prostitution or the trade in certain
drugs are not illegal.
The ONS estimates of illicit revenues are based on 2009
data, the latest it says it are available, and could help bolster arguments for
the reform of drug and prostitution laws.
Prostitution itself is not illegal in Britain, but
activities surrounding the trade, such as keeping a brothel, are, prompting
critics for an overhaul of what they see as muddled rules.
Similarly, calls have mounted in Britain for the partial
legalisation of some drugs, both to curb the crime associated with prohibition
and also to boost tax revenues as the government tries to plug a big budget
deficit.
"As economies develop and evolve, so do the statistics
we use to measure them," ONS Chief Economic Adviser Joe Grice said in a
statement.
The statistical body said estimating revenues and costs
incurred in illicit activities had been difficult, and that they had based some
assumptions on data from other studies or on police figures.
Statisticians estimated that there are 58,000 prostitutes in
the country seeing up to 30 clients a week each, and assumed that the only drug
produced in Britain is cannabis.
Other drugs included in their calculations were crack
cocaine, powder cocaine, heroin, ecstasy and amphetamines.
Overall, adjustments to the way Britain's national accounts
are reviewed, including measures such as looking at revenues from non-profit
institutions, would have boosted 2009 GDP by between four and five percent.
Other illicit activities that could be included in future
accounting are the handling of stolen goods, illegal gambling, and the copying
of software, games, movies and music, the ONS said.
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