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