Monday, May 09, 2005

If you've got time to think this up, chances are it's an issue 

A reader to Marginal Revolution sends in a question.
...there is an inexplicable shortage of sex. Given that studies show that women and men enjoy it more than most other activities (on average, not on the margin I'll grant), and given its intrinsically low cost, it appears that even a crude approximation of a utility maximizing person would probably spend much more time having sex than most do. Do you know of any economic discussion of this?

Tyler Cowen offers twelve possible explanations that account for gains from trade, much to the consternation of his spouse. I'm still not clear on the marginal utility issues here.

Question: If it is market failure, what is the government solution?

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