IES Management College And Research Centre

Stanford economist Paul Oyer offers an informative view of modern microeconomics based on his experiences with online dating.

Conquering the dating market--from an economist's point of view. After more than twenty years, economist Paul Oyer found himself back on the dating scene--but what a difference a few years made. Dating was now dominated by sites like Match.com, eHarmony, and OkCupid. But Oyer had a secret weapon: economics. It turns out that dating sites are no different than the markets Oyer had spent a lifetime studying. Monster.com, eBay, and other sites where individuals come together to find a match gave Oyer startling insight into the modern dating scene. The arcane language of economics--search, signaling, adverse selection, cheap talk, statistical discrimination, thick markets, and network externalities--provides a useful guide to finding a mate. Using the ideas that are central to how markets and economics and dating work, Oyer shows how you can take advantage of the economics in everyday life, all around you, all the time. For all online daters--and for anyone else swimming in the vast sea of the information economy--this book uses Oyer's own experiences, and those of millions of others, to help you navigate the key economic concepts that drive the modern age.