Online Dating Like Finding a Job
Jasbina Ahluwalia asks Paul Oyer, author of Everything I Ever Needed to Know About Economics I Learned from Online Dating: That’s so interesting. What are some of the most obvious parallels in understanding economics in terms of online dating techniques and strategies?
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Paul Oyer
Online Dating Like Finding a Job: Each Unique
Again, drawing the parallel to the job market, online dating or any sort of matchmaking is very similar to finding a job.
They are unlike other markets. All the goods are differentiated. Every potential mate is different from one another.
Similarly, every job is different and every employee is different.
The parallels between a firm looking for the right worker and a person looking for the spouse or significant other are very strong.
Online Dating Like Finding a Job: Real-Life Example
Here is an example of other things that make these markets very similar and don’t necessarily hold in all of the other markets.
If I go to buy a can of soda, I can just go buy the can of soda.
If I want to find a job or a significant other, they have to like me back. That’s a very different market dynamic than what we see in other types of markets.
The parallels with the job marketers striking the parallels with other markets are also there, but they’re a little more subtle.
Things like information asymmetry is something we as economists study all the time. This is where buyers and sellers who have private information provide incentives to hide from the other side of the market.
You see that all the time in dating and many other markets.
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Tell Us:
Do you agree: online dating like finding a job? Share your experiences with us in the comments section below.
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The above is an excerpt from Jasbina’s interview with Paul Oyer
The entire interview transcript is at: Dr. Paul Oyer Interview – Everything I Ever Needed to Know about Economics I Learned from Online Dating
Listen to the entire interview on: Intersections Match Talk Radio – Jasbina’s Lifestyle Show
Listen to the entire interview on Blog Talk Radio: Everything I Ever Needed to Know about Economics I Learned from Online Dating
Listen to the entire interview on iTunes
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