The international crime industry is very large. Police agencies around the world estimate that billions and billions of dollars is spent on the black market every year. The United Nations publishes reports almost monthly that demonstrates how bad the problem is.
There are various aspects of the international black market. One aspect of the underground economy is prostitution. In many countries around the world, prostitution is illegal to undertake. However, that has not prevented people from participating in the activity. Thousands upon thousands of men around the world use the services of a prostitute every day. In surveys of the industry, it is estimated that China has the largest prostitution market in terms of revenue, followed by Spain, Japan, the legal industry of Germany and the United States to close out the top five. There are many different sides to this issue. Some non-governmental organizations argue that the sex trade should be legalized. The arguments in favor of legalization is due to the fact that if it was legal, them women would be afforded more protection under the law. Their customers would no longer be able to treat them in harmful ways and that they would have legal rights.
Another big black market around the world is the trafficking of illegal drugs. The illegal drug trade also have billions of dollars involved in it. A big portion of the revenue in drug trafficking involves cocaine. Cocaine is grown and produced in the country of Colombia. From there, it is moved secretly across Central America and into Mexico. The drug cartels in Mexico take control of the product and then smuggle it into the United States. In America, the cocaine is broken up to thousands of street dealer around the nation who then sells it on the black market.
Similar to prostitution, there are many who argue that drugs should be legalized. If it was legalized, then the organized crime syndicates who control the trade would no longer be able to make money. They wouldn't use guns and other types of deadly weapons to conduct business. And governments around the world would be able to gain a new form of tax revenue by taxing the drugs at a high rate. Some states in the USA have already started doing this. Marijuana in 16 states have become legalized for medical purposes. That means that customers who have a doctors prescription can purchase marijuana legally from stores. These stores have contributed to the tax revenues in states like California and Colorado.
The final type of illegal economy that I would like to comment on is the selling of counterfeit goods. This is a criminal market that copies the work of real products and simply makes copies off of that original work. A company could spend years designing a product and have it copied immediately. The counterfeiters simply create the same look as the original and sells it off as the real thing.
In recent years, it has become very difficult for police to determine if product is fake. The production value of the counterfeiters has improved so much that it looks almost identical to the legitimate item. Thus, now many multinational companies are starting to lose revenue due to the counterfeit industry. Estimates place the annual losses to be over $250 billion.
The are just some of the black markets in the world.
There are various aspects of the international black market. One aspect of the underground economy is prostitution. In many countries around the world, prostitution is illegal to undertake. However, that has not prevented people from participating in the activity. Thousands upon thousands of men around the world use the services of a prostitute every day. In surveys of the industry, it is estimated that China has the largest prostitution market in terms of revenue, followed by Spain, Japan, the legal industry of Germany and the United States to close out the top five. There are many different sides to this issue. Some non-governmental organizations argue that the sex trade should be legalized. The arguments in favor of legalization is due to the fact that if it was legal, them women would be afforded more protection under the law. Their customers would no longer be able to treat them in harmful ways and that they would have legal rights.
Another big black market around the world is the trafficking of illegal drugs. The illegal drug trade also have billions of dollars involved in it. A big portion of the revenue in drug trafficking involves cocaine. Cocaine is grown and produced in the country of Colombia. From there, it is moved secretly across Central America and into Mexico. The drug cartels in Mexico take control of the product and then smuggle it into the United States. In America, the cocaine is broken up to thousands of street dealer around the nation who then sells it on the black market.
Similar to prostitution, there are many who argue that drugs should be legalized. If it was legalized, then the organized crime syndicates who control the trade would no longer be able to make money. They wouldn't use guns and other types of deadly weapons to conduct business. And governments around the world would be able to gain a new form of tax revenue by taxing the drugs at a high rate. Some states in the USA have already started doing this. Marijuana in 16 states have become legalized for medical purposes. That means that customers who have a doctors prescription can purchase marijuana legally from stores. These stores have contributed to the tax revenues in states like California and Colorado.
The final type of illegal economy that I would like to comment on is the selling of counterfeit goods. This is a criminal market that copies the work of real products and simply makes copies off of that original work. A company could spend years designing a product and have it copied immediately. The counterfeiters simply create the same look as the original and sells it off as the real thing.
In recent years, it has become very difficult for police to determine if product is fake. The production value of the counterfeiters has improved so much that it looks almost identical to the legitimate item. Thus, now many multinational companies are starting to lose revenue due to the counterfeit industry. Estimates place the annual losses to be over $250 billion.
The are just some of the black markets in the world.