Dirty Money

Is national well-being higher in countries where men have larger penises than average? How much money does an unappealing bloke need to have to attract as many women via an online dating site as a hot man? Why hasn't a male birth control pill made it to the chemists? Does raising the price of beer reduce risky sex? Why does a spike in the sale of sex toys predict an upcoming recession, while an increase in the number of breast lifts indicates a perkier economy is on the way? Which comes first: a prosperous nation or a promiscuous one? When professor of economics Marina Adshade decided to skip the guns and butter and talk about the market for sex, courtship, love, and marriage, she became an international media sensation. Now, she pulls the covers off a suite of provocative questions about the supply and demand of our most intimate deeds. Adshade's answers reveal that our decisions in matters of sex and love are made with a firm grasp of economics (whether we realize it or not) - though, for best results, perhaps refrain from bringing Adam Smith to bed.