Economics of Love
July 24, 2008
Win Ben Stein's Money
A couple of days ago I came upon this article by Ben Stein in the NYT. Ben Stein, lovingly known to my generation for “Win Ben Stein’s Money” and his various movie roles, is known to my parents as a prominent American lawyer and former speech writer for President Nixon. What really caught my eye about this article was that it involves two of my favorite things: love and economics. Strange, you may say, but it makes sense once you consider that I am an economics major who is obsessed with supply and demand curves and a product of Disney movies where young children were taught that true love was just a glass slipper away.
Stein poses a great opening sentence: “What could be scarcer or more precious than love? It is rare, hard to come by and often fragile.” I thnk anyone you ask – from the Sunday morning girl on her walk of shame/no shame/glory home to the woman on eharmony.com to the newlywed bride – will agree to the scarcity of love.
So to sum up Stein’s points, he tells us:
The returns to love are roughly proportional to the amount of time and devotion invested.
Look for the high-quality human being. If you’re in a junk relationship, sell immediately.
Returns are greater if there is a monopoly – as long as you’re the monopoly holder.
Returns on your investment should be at least equal to the cost of the investment.
Long term investment pays off.
Have realistic expections.
When you have a winner, stick with your winner.
Everything that Stein is telling us seems to be common sense. These guidelines would come in handy if you’re buying a new refridgerator or looking for a relationship. But what all of this information doesn’t jive with is the idea of hooking up. In previous posts we’ve differentiated between hooking up just because it’s fun and you want to and believing that it’s the pathway to a real relationship. For believers of that second school of thought, Stein’s Economics of Love lay out some rules for you.
