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