> [undermining his whole argument, he totally ignores the
> institution of polyandry.]
>
> March 16, 2006/New York TIMES
>
> Economic Scene
> Polygamy and the Marriage Market: Who Would Have the Upper Hand?
> By ROBERT H. FRANK
> Permitting plural marriage in human societies would unleash
> competitive forces analogous to those we see in other
> species. With women in chronically short supply, men would
> face even more intense pressure than they do now to get ahead
> economically, to spend even longer hours honing their abs.
> More men would undergo cosmetic surgery. Expenditures on
> engagement rings would rise. Valentine's Day bouquets would
> be two dozen roses, not just a dozen. Yet no matter how
> valiantly each man strove, the same number would be destined
> not to marry.
I suspect that these people are just trying to be flippant, because it is hard to believe that someone can be that misguided or just plain clueless. You do not need a PhD in economics to figure out that the meat errr... dating market is extremely segmented geographically and socially and it has always been that way. That means, for example that "shortage of women" is the norm rather than an exception for a very simple reason - the availability of men and women vary considerably among niches. That is to say, men of all ages hit on younger women whereas only mostly older men hit on older women. Therefore, the is an extreme shortage in the "younger women" market niche relative to demand. Furthermore, if what these folk conjecture were true, that shortage would result in tremendous power of younger women over all men. In reality, everyone but a PhD in economic knows that younger women have as a norm the least amount of power in virtually every society, not only than men but also than older women, despite the fact that demand for them is lower. Thus the facts seem to contradict the theory, but last times I heard these guys still deny market segmentation.
Speaking of the supply, demand, and economists, here is an economist joke:
A speaker at an economist convention: "My paper reports on a new discovery that puts our conventional views on outsourcing in an entirely new light. I discovered that India has an ample supply of highly qualified and inexpensive economists."
Wojtek