People say, ‘Everything is fair in love and war.’ Indeed, not to an economist. My delightful readers might perceive it uncanny to have linked something as tender as love with something as perplexing as Economics. However, my economics course has equipped me with various theories to apply to the real world. And here, the idea of love being economical popped up in my mind!
Gary Becker, a Nobel Winning Economist, attempted to explain the phenomenon of love through economic theories. He assumed this world to be a market wherein all men and women are market players competing with one another to find their mate that maximizes their satisfaction from marriage given their set of personalities and capabilities. Love is a behavioural phenomenon and not universal to humans, hence, its results cannot be standardized. However, no one can deny that successful marriage requires settlement through the coordination of efforts invested by both partners.
Besides, relationships and marriages have offered various opportunities for entrepreneurs to fill in the gaps that exist in the economy and extend another source of GDP to the country. For instance, numerous businesses benefit from celebrations of love, namely gift shops, date organizers, and many more. Undeniably, such expenses prove fruitful according to the country’s economic perspective, since it accelerates the Aggregate Demand, leading to output and employment growth. Nonetheless, these expenses guzzle up a considerable amount of our disposable income and hence, might not be economical from an individual’s perspective. Therefore, I will bring to you some alternatives to express your love ‘economically’.
- Replace random gifting with random “I love you” and compliments. According to me, a person in love attains maximum contentment from apprehension of their partner’s feelings towards them. Isn’t receiving attention and feeling loved and wanted what a human heart craves?
- Express your love through your skills. Expensive gifts can sometimes be replaced with handmade cards, handwritten poetry, self-composed songs, cooking favourite meals, etc., depending upon what you can do best.
- Plan spontaneous cosy home dates instead of visiting expensive restaurants, etc.
These personalized ideas could be executed to minimize your expenses on love. Rational Expectations in Economics imply that people should make decisions based on all the relevant information to maximize returns. Therefore, one should act rationally and be meaningful to oneself while expressing love.
Love is a profitable business to be invested in from the standpoint of the economy, as it yields good returns. Today, people in the rush of their life choose to spend more on expensive gifts instead of recognizing the aspirations of their love and spending quality time together. Love letters, flowers, etc. are now termed ‘Old School Love’ which was, certainly, the purest form.
However, it is important to note that Love is an emotion that cannot be reimbursed in monetary terms. Therefore, I would like to conclude by saying that preserving the practical, beautiful, and pure form of love cannot be measured solely by economic considerations.