Freakonomics in the Times Magazine: The Economy of Desire

In Freakonomics (the book), Levitt and Dubner often combine disparate subjects to sensible, if startling effect: the commonalities between sumo wrestlers and schoolteachers, for instance, or the KKK and the National Association of Realtors. In their latest Freakonomics column in the New York Times Magazine, they combine another seemingly unlikely pair of ideas: price theory and sexual preference. What does one have to do with the other? And what does it matter? Click here to read the article.

The article is largely based on a paper written by Andy Francis, an economics PhD. candidate at the University of Chicago. Click here to read his paper: “The Economics of Sexuality: The Effect of HIV/AIDS on Sexual Behavior, Desire, and Identity in the United States.” Another paper referenced in the article is “Sex Sells, But Risky Sex Sells for More,” by Paul Gertler, Manisha Shah, and Stefano Bertozzi.