5 ms·
The article claims that even a change from 50:50 to 48.7:51.3 (19 men, 20 women) would have a very large effect. But I doubt the marriage market is liquid enoug
by jazzdev 17y ago
The article claims that even a change from 50:50 to 48.7:51.3 (19 men, 20 women) would have a very large effect. But I doubt the marriage market is liquid enough for a change that small to have a large effect because I don't think it would even be noticed. I agree with you that a change to 40:60 is a large change. That's a change you can't help but notice in your dorm and your classes, so that's a change that is likely to affect your behavior.
- joe_the_user 17y agoI think the abstract game described by the article implies that one wouldn't directly see the change in the gender ratios, what one would see would a person who had become "desperate" and and began "underbidding". Once one person starts "underbidding", the effect can cascade as other feel pressure to match the "bids". However, the big question is whether a dating site would be arena where that kind of dynamic would actually play out. It's worth noting that in the present housing market, there's a also a mis-match between people looking to buy houses and available new houses. However, the banks and Real Estate dealers have managed hold back the flood-gates of desperate offers through various means - so market structure can put a damp on these ratio effects. I've evolutionary psychology theory that talks about the social pressure on women to not "sell themselves short" and this is another effort to control market structure to prevent the effects described in the article - but since Internet dating sites are a purely individual matter, they may be where ratio effects come into play.