Not really. there is economic analysis in Economic Journal on couple that would work.
Only in a PERFECT COMPETITION market will ALL the goods be the same. But it is impossible to have a perfect competeition in real world.
Most economic analysis deals with monopolistic competition. As an anthropologist specialized in love affair said in her TED speech, when we are in love, we usually haave an over-estimation between the difference among women. (Probably the same for men I suspect)
No two burgers are the same, but every one of them are simliar (maybe except the veggie burger-platonic women and Kosher burger-Christian women)
Consumers have clearly defined preferences and sellers attempt to differentiate their products from those of their competitors; the goods and services are heterogeneous, usually (though not always) intrinsically so.
Makes me think of the idea my economic professor said.
The goal of economic to maximize happiness. However, we cannot measure happiness objectively. Even so, there are components in happiness we can measure, and it is income/expenditure. (AKA GDP/capita) (The rest go on about an analysis of how well the scale work.)
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In similiar manner, in the worst case senario of a break up, the number of choices for the woman will decrease much more because of aging.
Since women are generally more emotion-sensitive (as can be demonstrated by neuroscience), a break up will prbably be more painful to them then to us.
Even though men and women are equal, we are different.
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I never said it is a cost benefit analysis, rather, it is only a risk acessement (cost only).