Justin Wolfers on the economics of love and happiness

Justin Wolfers is an Australian economist and public policy scholar. He is professor of economics and public policy at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan, and a Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Wolfers holds a Ph.D. in Economics (1997–2001) and an Master of Economics (2000), both from Harvard University, and a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Sydney (1991–1994). He had a Fulbright Scholarship.Wolfers attended James Ruse Agricultural High School (1985–1990). He is noted for his research on happiness and its relation to income. Wolfers moved to the University of Michigan as professor of economics and public policy beginning in fall 2012 with his partner, fellow economist Betsey Stevenson.

Prior to coming to the University of Michigan, Wolfers was associate professor of business and public policy at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is a contributor to the New York Times (where he writes for The Upshot blog) and the Wall Street Journal, and was an editor of the Brookings Papers on Economic Activity from 2009 through Fall 2015. Wolfers' research has explored the economics of sports, sports betting, prediction markets and the family.

Lyrics to the song: The Economics of Love

I've done a differential game model

On our partnership

the results are what you'd expect



Based on effort and appeal

Our love it is ideal

Cos we've both so heavily invested



But it's not the sunk cost fallacy

That keeps us together

It's the ongoing returns

And compounded interest



Not the sunk cost fallacy

Why we go on forever

It's a high-yield bond

vs a high-heeled blonde

I've learnt the economics of love



It's growing exponentially

A concave curve

Building on our saving reserve



With no signs of fragility

And maximized utility

Returns are much greater than cost



But it's not the sunk cost fallacy

That keeps us together

It's the ongoing returns

And compounded interest



Not the sunk cost fallacy

Why we go on forever

It's a high-yield bond

vs a high-heeled blonde

I've learnt the economics of love



The coefficient of variation

Of our love affair

Shows mutual benefits

Of which we're both aware



Perceived costs are low

Cost of separation is high

Net benefit's optimized



But it's not the sunk cost fallacy

That keeps us together

It's the ongoing returns

And compounded interest



Not the sunk cost fallacy

Why we go on forever

It's a high-yield bond

vs a high-heeled blonde

I've learnt the economics of love

---

Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/podsongs/message