Dollars and Sex by Marina Adshade Summary

Dollars and Sex: How Economics Influences Sex and Love by Marina Adshade explores how economic principles like supply, demand, and market forces shape dating, marriage, and sexual behavior. The book applies analysis to trends like online dating, gender imbalances, and infidelity, arguing that economic incentives drive decisions in relationships. It blends research, humor, and real-world examples to reframe love as a marketplace.

This book suits readers interested in unconventional perspectives on relationships, economics enthusiasts, and those curious about behavioral science. It’s valuable for sociology students, dating app users, and anyone exploring how societal trends like income inequality or technology reshape romantic choices. Adshade’s accessible style caters to both academics and casual readers.

Yes, for its unique lens on love and sex through economics. While some critics note repetitive arguments or a casual tone, the book offers actionable insights, such as how education impacts marriage rates or why wealth affects attraction. It’s particularly valuable for understanding modern dating dynamics and the hidden economic forces behind personal choices.

Adshade uses supply-demand dynamics to analyze gender ratios in dating markets, cost-benefit frameworks for infidelity, and human capital theory for marriage decisions. For example, she explains why college-educated individuals delay marriage (prioritizing career investments) and how income disparities influence mate selection. The book also applies game theory to negotiation power in relationships.

The book argues dating apps reduce search costs, creating efficient markets where users “shop” for partners based on traits like income or education. This shifts power dynamics, enabling niche preferences (e.g., filtering by political views) and altering traditional courtship patterns. Adshade also discusses how apps increase casual sex accessibility but reduce long-term commitment rates.

Adshade highlights how skewed gender ratios (e.g., more women in cities) intensify competition, raising men’s bargaining power. She ties this to higher rates of casual relationships in male-scarce environments and explains why women in these markets often prioritize financial stability over physical attractiveness in partners.

Marriage is framed as a contractual investment where partners exchange resources (e.g., income for childcare). Adshade discusses specialization—where one spouse focuses on earning and the other on domestic labor—and how rising female earnings reduce marriage incentives. She also explores divorce as a “market correction” when investments no longer align.

Critics argue the tone occasionally veers into overly simplistic or sensationalized comparisons (e.g., likening dating to stock markets). Some find the economic lens reductive, ignoring emotional nuances. However, most praise its originality, with The National Post calling it “stimulating” despite advising readers to “selectively abandon” certain conclusions.

Adshade frames cheating as a cost-benefit calculation: potential gains (e.g., sexual satisfaction) vs. risks (divorce, financial loss). She cites studies showing higher-income individuals cheat less due to greater losses, while biological drives and opportunity costs (e.g., childcare duties) also play roles. The analysis excludes moral judgments, focusing purely on rational actor models.

Coined by Adshade, “sexonomics” refers to studying romantic and sexual behavior through economic frameworks. It includes analyzing pricing (e.g., dowries, alimony), market efficiency (dating apps), and labor division in marriages. The term encapsulates the book’s core premise: love and sex are transactional, whether consciously or subconsciously.

Adshade argues technology expands partner options but commodifies traits (e.g., via profile metrics), reducing relationships to transactional exchanges. She also examines how social media raises comparison costs, fostering dissatisfaction, and how platforms like OnlyFans commercialize intimacy, blurring lines between romance and economic exchange.

Unlike purely academic texts, Adshade blends data with pop-culture references, making complex theories accessible. It diverges from self-help guides by avoiding prescriptive advice, instead explaining why patterns emerge. Comparatively, it focuses less on psychology than behavioral economics books, prioritizing market analogies over emotional drivers.