Do you want to find love?
Get ahead at work?
Take on and succeed against big business?
Secure your future?
If you have said “yes” to any of the questions above, then what you need is : Economics!
Now, don't give me that look. Stranger things have happened, but turning to economics to solve any problems in life may just be the most rational thing you will ever do.
Tim Harford, the part time agony uncle of the Financial Times and full time economist, would like to show you a new way. With the help of economics, Tim would help you to find love, take on big business, get ahead at work and look into your future, sans a crystal ball- all with the tools of analyses available from economics.
Convinced yet? Hmm, I thought so. No wonder the show is called Trust Me, I'm an Economist.
Well, it may sound gimmicky, but it's all true. Harford is a very well respected economist. He has worked for the World Bank and the International Finance Corp, writes the “Dear Economist” column at the Financial Times, hosts the BBC Radio 4 program More or Less and is the author of such international bestsellers such as The Undercover Economist and The Logic of Life.
And now he is in your TV screen, talking about your everyday decision making viewed from the angle of economic analysis. Would you bite?
Well let's have a look shall we? How would Tim Harford help you find love? Simple. He will train you in a concept called game theory. It is the field of study where strategies and payoffs in competitive atmospheres are the primary focus. Every thing in life can be viewed as a game with the goals as highest payoffs and the strategies as how to get there.
For example, you can play the game of finding love. The goal is to end up with a romantic partner and the strategies involved would be how to achieve such an outcome. Tim takes us to the world of speed dating which is the one place where information is truly random, hence rational predictions are possible. What are your strategies about proving to a potential partner that you are a reliable and trustworthy person and not just playing the field?
Then we go to a couple buying an engagement ring- how much is it worth? How would a couple entering marriage view it: in terms of the commitment that they expect form the other or in terms of the commitment and effort that they bring to the table? How much is marriage worth? Unromantic as it may sound, is it not really like a business merger?
How would a couple, after some time of stable relationship show their commitment? Would the man sell his bachelor pad and move in with the woman?If he does not, then may be he's not entirely committed! If she asks him to sell his flat, would he agree to it just to show how much he is in love with her? Would he come up with a counter offer: let both of us sell our places and move into somewhere bigger and better. If this was a poker game, you would call it raising the stakes.
Do you want high or low quality children? To answer that question, consider this: how much would you be able to afford to spend per child? A perfect illustration is the musical instrument. If you have four of five children, you may be able to buy them cheap instruments like the flute. If you have three, then you may be able to invest in guitars. With two, you can buy violins and cellos. And with only one child, you can invest in a grand piano.
These are just some of the areas of romantic relationships and family dynamics you can explore with economics. With Tim Harford as the host, there is always an interesting angle to the most mundane of human events. There is never a boring moment!
Next time, I shall talk about how Tim can help you turn the table on big business by using the same strategies they use to gouge cash off your pockets.
Trust me I'm an Economist is available on DVD.
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