Dirty Money
What can you tell us about your new book Dirty Money?
Dirty Money is based on the idea that every option, every decision, and every outcome in matters of sex and love is better understood by thinking like an economist. I know that claim sounds horribly cold and unromantic, but the book is neither in that it acknowledges that we often follow our hearts (and other body parts) when pursuing personal relationships. But that doesn’t rule out the influence of markets on our love and sex lives. It is that economic influence that Dirty Money puts into context for readers in, what I hope is, a fun and entertaining way to think about our own love lives.
Does promiscuity make nations rich?
It is amazing how much attitudes towards causal sexual relationships varies from nation to nation and, what is even more interesting, is that it is the wealthiest nations in the world that have the most liberal sexual values. So you might think that there is a direct relationship between promiscuity and wealth; for example that people in wealthy nations have more time to have casual sexual relationships. In my mind, however, I think what it really comes down to is what made those nations wealthy in the first place. Attitudes like being open to new ideas, trust, and a willingness to accept risk are all good for economic growth. I suspect that these same cultural characteristics that have allowed nations to become wealthy also encourage promiscuity. After all, what can be more trusting, and more risky, than sex with a virtual stranger?
What does the price of beer have to do with casual sex?
This is one of my favourite topics to teach in my class since my students seems to have no trouble seeing the relationship between drink prices and random sex! Researchers have found that when drink prices increase, the rates of sexually transmitted diseases fall. The explanation for this is that buying drinks is part of the “price” of going out and having casual sexual encounters. And, just like anything else we might consume, when the price goes up how much we are willing to buy goes down – people drink less when drinks are more expensive and, as a result, make safer choices when it comes to sex.
Do less attractive people really have more dishonest online dating profiles?
It seems that they do. You might be tempted to think that this is because less attractive people have more reason to lie than do more attractive people, but I suspect that the real reason is that they spend more time on the online dating market and, as time passes, they start to give into the temptation to revise their dating profiles to make themselves look more attractive. The less learned here is that if you are wary of deceptive dating profiles it is worth considering how long a potential love interest has been on the site – if it has been a while, that might make you suspicious about honestly they represent themselves!
You have a whole new set of economic wedding vows in your book; tell us about those.
Its funny, because when I wrote my economic wedding vows I wasn’t certain that people would really connect with them, but they seem to be one of the more popular parts of the book. They aren’t very romantic, I realize that, since they are the vows we might choose if we were being brutally honest about the contract that we are entering into when we walk down the aisle. I don’t want to give away too much, but let’s just say that no woman probably wants to hear her future husband proclaim at the alter “I accept that while I have met other women whose qualities were such that they surpassed my minimum requirements for a bride, the fact that they found me lacking has led me to choose you, my love, as my future wife”. Even is that pretty accurately describes the process that brings us there.
We are constantly hearing that older women are disadvantaged on the dating market, you disagree. Why is that?
It’s true when we look at the numbers it appears that older women outnumber men on the market for love – which is why it is popular for TV shows to portray older women lined up around the block clutching casseroles whenever an older man’s wife dies. Part of the problem here is that it assumes that older women are looking for the same thing that younger women are looking for – someone to have a long-term committed relationship with – and that older men are looking for the same thing as younger men – short term sexual relationships with many women. In reality, many older women are quite happy to have short-term relationships and many older men are looking for long-term commitments, meaning that in some regards older women actually have the advantage in the older singles market.
Why is there yet no male birth control pill?
The simple answer this is question is that an unplanned pregnancy is much more costly for women than it is for men. Even if we ignore biological costs (which are huge), women who have had mistimed pregnancies often end up with less education and lower lifetime income than they would have otherwise. Because of these costs, women are willing to pay more for contraceptives than are men who don’t have to shoulder as much of that burden. Of course, now that governments are getting better at having men support the children they accidentally produce, men might be more willing to take the necessary steps to ensure that they don’t end up in that situation. That should go a long way to increasing the market for an effective contraceptive for men and, hopefully, it won’t be too long before women can pass some of the responsibility for birth control off to their partners.
Please tell us about your professional background and training.
I am a Ph.D. economist who has been teaching and engaging in original economic research for the past ten years. In 2008 I offered the world’s first university course called the Economics of Sex and Love that drew hundreds of curious students to my lecture hall. That course led to a popular blog called “Dollars and Sex” which is currently being hosted by Psychology Today (previous years posts can be seen on my website [www.marinaadshade.com]). I recently moved my family to Vancouver and am thrilled to find myself now teaching at the Vancouver School of Economics at the University of British Columbia.
What is a normal day like in your world?
I am extremely lucky to be able to spend my days doing the two things I love – writing and teaching economics. There is no “normal” day in my world – some days I am on campus all day, either in the classroom or meeting one-on-one with my students, other days I am in pajamas working away on my laptop on new articles or preparing for speaking engagements.
You write regularly for the Globe and Mail, please can you expand on this for us.
I write regularly for a number of media outlets on the topic of economics of sex and love here in Canada and abroad. I write on a diverse range of topic from how marriage markets are evolving over time to how declining fertility rates are changing investment behavior all the way to how having an attractive of a real estate agent can influence the selling price of a house. I recently wrote two pieces for Buzzfeed; one on how governments budgets influence sexual behaviour (for example, how beer taxes decrease promiscuity) and another on why finding love on this modern market is so difficult.
What is next for you?
As much as I love writing, I love public speaking even more. So the next six months will be tied up with opportunities for me to go out to colleges and conferences around North American and speaking to audiences about the economics of sex and love. Maybe, if I am extremely lucky, I will have a chance to come and speak in the UK. I would love to have a chance to make use of my British passport!