Oral sex can be safer than penetrative sex: It dramatically reduces the risk of contracting HIV and reduces the effects of some other sexually transmitted infections (although you can still pick up herpes, warts, and thrush). Schoolchildren are now bombarded with information about the risks of sex, particularly HIV/AIDS. But an economic explanation would instead start with the premise that this is a response to changing incentives. Now, there is no shortage of explanations: Perhaps everyone just thought that if it was good enough for Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky, it was good enough for them. Moreover, as an economist, I feel uniquely qualified to opine on why it is happening. I am more than a decade away from being either and so regard myself as a neutral in this debate. In some quarters, that might be regarded as progress, but how you feel about it probably depends on whether you are a teenager or a parent of teenagers.
