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