Chapter 132 Chapter 10 The Informal Marketplace of Human Relations

Why is the age of first marriage delayed for men and women? Why is it easier for people to find another friend of the opposite sex after they have a friend of the opposite sex? Why do people mostly think that reserve is a charming quality? Why do people who live in rural areas get married earlier than those who live in cities? If polygamy is good for men and bad for women, as everyone thinks, why would predominantly male legislators ban it? Why are many military marriages divorced after ten years? Why are generally attractive people also smarter than others? While relationships are primarily driven by emotions, they cannot completely escape economic logic.Consider the relationship between wealth and personal attractiveness.Everyone wants to own a home in a safe neighborhood with good schools, but those with low incomes certainly can't.Therefore, if you ask women what is the most attractive feature of a man in their minds, earning ability always ranks at the top without exception.Economists are not surprised by this.

In Fitz.In the book "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fizgerald, the protagonist James.Gates knew that his humble social status was not worthy of proposing to the woman he liked, Daisy.So he changed his name to Jay.Gatsby, single-mindedly seeks to maximize material success. Adam.Smith's theory of compensating wage differentials (Chapter 3) helps shed light on Gatsby's quest.This theory states that the more unpleasant and risky a job is, the more rewarding it will be.So the best candidates for some very well-paid jobs are those who are willing to do immoral things.Gatsby found that if he wanted to achieve his goals, he could not be cautious and timid.

Fitz.Gerald does not describe the specific details of Gatsby's amassed wealth.But there is no doubt that Gatsby's career was not only detrimental to morality, but also illegal.Gatsby knew very well that if he was caught and punished, the dream would be shattered.But he certainly wouldn't have gotten rich had he chosen the less risky path. The examples in this chapter draw on economists' perspectives to illustrate that informal markets for social relationships are also influenced by the same logic of supply and demand that governs behavior in other markets.When economists make this point, it’s not that love doesn’t count when choosing a marriage partner.Actually, Fitz.Gerald himself, although he always believed that material things played an important role in the courtship process, he once told his friends not to marry for money.Follow the money, he suggested, and marry for love.

While each of the six billion people on this planet is different, there seem to be a few things in common when people evaluate potential marriage partners.These commonalities vary slightly across cultures, but overlap to a surprising degree.For example, many people like a partner who is nice, honest, loyal, healthy, smart, and attractive.Women generally admit to being attracted to financially successful men.When asked what kind of women they think are attractive, men did not mention earning ability before, but in recent surveys in the United States, they have also begun to mention it. Each person's purchasing power in the informal market of marriage depends on the personal characteristics that person is born with.To put it simply, assuming that the individual weights represent the relative importance of the corresponding personality, it is advisable to use the weighted average of the personalities possessed by the marriage seekers to measure their purchasing power.In this way, each person can calculate a score between one and ten, with higher scores representing more desirable personality combinations.Assume further that each suitor obeys the rule of marrying the best candidate for you, and that all seek the same type of spouse, i.e. 10% candidates with other 10% candidates and 9% with other mates. Nine points, and so on.

Needless to say, this description of how people choose their mates is too blunt and emotionless.But for some courtship behaviors we observe in real life, it seems to be able to do some rough explanations.