Key Messages
How Economics Can Affect Our Choices Of Love, Life Partnerships, And Dating
If you take a closer look at love and relationships, you may be surprised to discover the economic side of it all.
With Dollars and Sex, you’ll get an insightful look into how economic factors play a role in our decisions about love, life partnership, and sex.
You’ll learn why online dating sites aren’t always helpful, as well as how income inequality can lead to divorces.
Even something as simple as the gender ratios of colleges can make a difference when it comes to the number of virgins on campus.
By reading Dollars and Sex, you’ll get an eye-opening glimpse into the economy of love and sex – one that will challenge your preconceived notions and help you discover where the boundaries between money, love, and sex really lie.
The Changing Attitudes Towards Sexuality And Women’S Empowerment In The Modern Era
It is true that across many societies, liberal views on female sexuality have existed and this has led to more freedom.
This phenomenon can easily be attributed to the modern woman who is better educated and independent, allowing her to make her own decisions about her sexuality without fear of judgement or detriment to her reputation.
Today’s women also have access to contraception that can protect them from STDs and unwanted pregnancies giving them the power to make decisions about their own bodies in a safe, secure environment.
Given these advances, premarital and extramarital relationships are far more socially accepted now than ever before.
Women are also now able to financially support themselves should they choose to raise a child on their own resulting from such relationships.
So it is clear that liberal attitudes regarding female sexuality over the years have resulted in greater freedom for today’s women and have consequently allowed them to make informed choices about their own lives.
How Contraceptives Have Changed Premarital Sex: Understanding The Risk Vs
When contraceptives such as birth control pills were developed, it certainly improved the probability of avoiding an unplanned pregnancy; however, this doesn’t mean that it resulted in fewer premarital pregnancies.
In fact, the number of pregnancies out of wedlock has increased over the years due to lowered financial and social risks presented by modern contraception.
Before the introduction of birth control methods in 1925, a woman had an 85% chance of getting pregnant if she engaged in unprotected sex with a man.
This could have major economic consequences: 0.85 X $45,000 $38,250.
With the added threat of damaged reputation, it’s no wonder that unmarried women at the time opted not to engage in intercourse before marriage.
But when condoms became available, these potential financial and social risks decreased significantly – from 85% to 45%.
Thus, more people felt comfortable engaging in premarital sex without worrying about damaging their reputation and/or facing economic consequences (the potential cost of premarital sex dropped from $38,250 to $20,250).
On top of lowered risks came more lenient cultural attitudes toward promiscuity which further encouraged premarital sex.
It began with people who lived in more liberal areas engaging without stigma and thus inspiring those living in more conservative areas to become more accepting of others’ decisions regarding sexual activity before marriage.
Over time a more liberal perception subsided among most communities and thus led to an increase in premarital pregnancies which continue today due to contraceptive methods never being 100% effective.
The Laws Of Supply And Demand Shape Sex On College Campuses
The law of supply and demand has had a major influence on relationships between males and females in college.
When a college campus is predominantly male, women are more likely to remain virgins; however, the probability drastically lowers when there is an abundance of female students on campus.
This is explained by economics in that with more demand than supply, prices inevitably start to drop in order for the product or service to sell faster.
In terms of this case, it means that the female students have an overabundance of (so to speak) goods and services which leads them to put a lower “price” on their availability or willingness for sexual intimacy.
These findings can be supported by studies conducted by Mark Regnerus and Jeremy Uecker in their book Premarital Sex in America: if a college campus has predominately males then chances are 45-percent that a female will keep her virginity while this number drops down to 30 percent when the campus contains more females than men.
Therefore, we can conclude that due to the law of supply and demand it has led women become more sexually active – out of their own choice – in college campuses with an excess of female students.
The Benefits Of Experiential Criteria In Online Dating: Making The Marketplace A Better Place To Find True Love
Most internet dating sites require users to fill out very broad criteria when looking for potential matches, which can reduce the likelihood of actually finding a suitable partner.
This is because the questions asked by websites are usually too general and don’t narrow down any specific criteria you’re looking for in a match.
As a result, they often create what’s called a “thin marketplace”–making it much more difficult to find someone who meets your desired preferences.
In economics, this situation is known as one where there are few willing buyers or sellers in the market, meaning that it’s harder for people to get what they want out of the situation.
When this happens, people may have fewer opportunities and thus be forced to accept poorer deals than they were previously looking for.
This means that no one involved with these kind of markets is fully satisfied with the outcome.
To help people find better matches on internet dating sites, more experiential features should be emphasized over quantitative criteria such as height and income level.
These kinds of experiences based on how we interact with others can lead us to more meaningful relationships compared to simply filling boxes about likes and dislikes.
After all, humour and personality are typically much more important than whether someone fits into our idealized list of traits!
Marriage: An Intimate Economic Cooperation Between Partners In Household Management And Service
Marriage makes great economic sense for both the household and the bedroom.
When two people join together in a partnership, they can become more efficient at managing the demands of running a household.
With each partner tending to tasks best suited to their individual skills, they can do a better job than either could alone.
This also applies when it comes to sex.
As studies have proven, married couples are more likely to engage in sex twice or three times per month than those who remain unmarried.
Finding sexual partners outside of marriage is time-consuming, carries numerous risks and potentially exposes people to disease and violence.
Marriage provides the sex you need without those risks.
By assisting one another in a variety of important roles such as bill paying, cleaning, laundry and other tasks that improve the functioning of day-to-day life, marriage makes good economic sense as well as good personal sense.
How Education Leads To Successful Monogamy In More Advanced Societies
The economic climate of certain societies has shifted to favor well-educated, financially independent women over polygamous marriages.
The Industrial Revolution and move towards urban living saw married men preferring a few highly educated children over having several uneducated ones – something that could only be ensured if their mother was educated herself.
With the increased demand for woman with high levels of skill and education, there became greater scope for them to choose their own husbands; no longer were they relegated to taking on second or third wife roles in order to make ends meet.
Now these women had better opportunities and financial independence which allowed them to marry whomever they pleased, even the most impoverished man should they so desire.
Considering this shift in dynamics, it’s no surprise that polygamy is slowly fading away from communities as people become more educated.
It is through this education that monogamous relationships are strengthened since husbands and wives have more marital power than ever before – a necessity for successful long-term marriages.
How Financial Inequality And Status Anxiety Lead To Divorce
It’s a fact that divorce rates are closely linked to financial security and economic equality.
According to a study conducted by economics professors Philip Oreopoulos and Kjell Salvanes, those with a postgraduate degree only have a 3-percent chance of getting divorced, while those with a high school diploma have a 16-percent chance.
This shows us just how much education and income level can impact your marriage.
Additionally, researchers have found that countries with high levels of inequality also have higher divorce rates.
This is because financial instability tends to lead to stress in marriages, so when some families make significantly more than their neighbors it can create an atmosphere of jealousy or resentment.
When one family begins to earn much more money than the others, it typically leads those on the other side of the economic divide down into a financial spiral that can take its toll on relationships.
The evidence is clear: financial security plays an important role in keeping marriages together – divorces are more common in poorer neighborhoods and less common in wealthier areas where financial stability is easier to achieve.
Therefore, as couples strive for financial stability they should also focus on maintaining good communication and taking steps to support each other’s goals.
Wrap Up
The final summary of Dollars and Sex is that the choices we make in our relationships and sex lives aren’t just driven by emotion, but can also be explained by economic theory.
The book looks at dating, marriage, and divorce and explains how economics applies in each of those situations.
From understanding our motivations for why we choose certain partners to how we might respond emotionally or logically to a break-up – economics plays an important role.
It shows us how our decisions and their consequences can be understood when viewed from a different perspective.
