Playing the Love Market: Dating, Romance and the Real World

Why is the use of personal advertisements in newspapers, magazines and the internet a rapidly increasing phenomenon? Does modern living push people, regardless of their sexuality, to use more commercial means of searching for potential partners? Which are the best options for particular individuals in their search process? This book directly addresses these questions from a straightforward, realistic but generally neglected view by psychologists, sociologists and other personal relationship "professionals".

Existing studies and guides to the dating process typically bypass the simple, inescapable and essential features of the way human beings proceed to instigate and assess relationships. The bottom line is that there is a market for potential relationship partners, in which individuals have to function to acquire dates. Like any market there is a supply and demand for the "goods" in question. Economists have studied how markets work in great detail and this book shows how simple economic reasoning can explain many of the characteristics of the market for dating partners, and also suggest strategies for effective participation in this market.