Economics of Sex?

One of the drawbacks of being a relatively young scientific discipline (as sex research is), is that the older, more established, bully disciplines like to come along and kick theoretical sand in your face now and then.

So it goes that at least once a year someone writes an article suggesting that sexology (although it is interdisciplinary in nature) has it all wrong; the right way to look at sex is [fill in the blank with your favorite academic discipline]. In this week’s installment, the correct way to understand human sexual behavior is Economics.

Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt, authors of "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything." turn their attention to sexuality in their New York Times Magazine column this week. It’s largely unimpressive, but the subtle condescension towards sexual scientists (while using them to make a topic more appealing to the masses) makes it worth the read.

New York Times Magazine: The Economy of Desire

Related: Freakonomics