Spousonomics: Using Economics to Master Love, Marriage, and Dirty Dishes

By: Paula Szuchman

Published February 8th 2011 by Random House

Category: Business

Pages: 335 pages

ISBN: 9780385343947

Description:
Are you happy in your marriageÑexcept for those weekly spats over who empties the dishwasher more often? Not a single complaintÑunless you count the fact that you havenÕt had sex since the Bush administration? Prepared to be there in sickness and in healthÑso long as it doesnÕt mean compromising? Be honest: Ever lay awake thinking how much more fun married life used to be?
Ê
If youÕre a member of the human race, then the answer is probably ÒyesÓ to all of the above. Marriage is a mysterious, often irrational business. Making it work till death do you partÑor just till the end of the weekÑisnÕt always easy. And no one ever handed you a userÕs manual.

Until now. With Spousonomics, Paula Szuchman and Jenny Anderson offer something new: a clear-eyed, rational route to demystifying your disagreements and improving your relationship. The key, they propose, is to think like an economist.

ThatÕs right: an economist.

Economics is the study of resource allocation, after all. How do weÑas partners in a society, a business, or a marriageÑspend our limited time, money, and energy? And how do we allocate these resources most efficiently? Spousonomics answers these questions by taking classic economic concepts and applying them to the domestic front. For example:
Ê
¥ Arguing all night isnÕt a sign of a communication breakdown; youÕre just extremely loss-averseÑand by refusing to give an inch, youÕre risking even greater losses.
¥ Stay late at the office, or come home for dinner? Be honest about your mother-in-law, or keep your mouth shut and smile? Let the cost-benefit analysis make the call.
¥ Getting your spouse to clean the gutters isnÕt a matter of nagging or guilt-tripping; itÕs a question of finding the right incentives.
¥ Being Òtoo busyÓ to exercise or forgetting your anniversary (again): your overtaxed memory and hectic schedule arenÕt to blameÑmoral hazard is.
¥ And when it comes to having more sex: merely a question of supply and demand!
Ê
Spousonomics cuts through the noise of emotions, egos, and tired relationship clichŽs. Here, at last, is a smart, funny, refreshingly realistic, and deeply researched book that brings us one giant leap closer to solving the age-old riddle of a happy, healthy marriage.