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Book review: Everything I Ever Needed to Know about Economics I Learned from Online Dating
Book review: Everything I Ever Needed to Know about Economics I Learned from Online DatingCan economic theory help you to find love? Matthew Partridge reviews Paul Oyer's new book that sets out to prove it can.
The failure of many economists to anticipate the financial crisis six years ago tarnished the field's reputation in the eyes of many.However, even if policymakers can't agree on a solution to the stagnation in Europe, Professor Paul Oyer of Stanford University thinks that economic theory may still help you to find love.
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With this in mind, Oyer's book uses the dating market to explain key principles of economics, details how we subconsciously follow them in our everyday lives, and even suggests some tips for finding the perfect partner.
The book is organised around nine chapters, each dealing with a separate principle. In some cases, it's easy tosee how these are related to dating,such as how the network effect determines the success and failure of dating sites. In others, Oyer employs some clever lateral thinking to link the two together.
For example, it's no secret that a lot of profile information (such as age and height) is either exaggerated or downplayed. However, the extent to which this occurs, and its effect on people's behaviour, can be explained by game theory.
Since the aim of the book is to entertain as well as to educate, it's lucky thatOyer is a warm and engaging writer.He has a knack for weaving in storiesand anecdotes to lighten the tone.
The theories he covers are explained in a clear and accessible way, meaning that the casual reader should be able to understand what he is saying.
Not all of Oyer's analysis is convincing. For instance, his discussion of how looser divorce laws have modified the incentives around marriage is a bit simplistic and one-sided.
Similarly, when he details research showing that people in bigger firms are better paid, he overlooks some plausible explanations, such as that they are more likely to get a share of the profits.
However, most of the time his insights are solid, and when the evidence is unclear for example, whether a college degree is merely a form of advertising he points this out.
Some readers may also find the book a little brief, at just over 200 pages. And those who buy this book thinking that they are getting a how-to guide to dating might also feel short-changed. Indeed, the suggestion that women "should make themselves beautiful" and that men "should get a raise" seems pretty obvious.
However, if you are willing to accept that online dating takes a back seat to economics, you're likely to find Oyer's book an entertaining read.
Everything I Ever Needed to Know about Economics I Learned from Online Dating by Paul Oyer. Published by Harvard Business Review Press (£16.99).
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