Lessons in Love, by Way of Economics

AS my fine professor of economics at Columbia, C. Lowell Harriss (who just celebrated his 96th birthday) used to tell us, economics is the study of the allocation of scarce goods and services. What could be scarcer or more precious than love? It is rare, hard to come by（经过）and often fragile.

My primary life study has been about love. Second comes economics, so here, in the form of a few rules, is a little amalgam (n.混合) of the two fields: the economics of love.

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In general, and with rare exceptions (n.例外), the returns in love situations are roughly proportional to (与…成对比例) the amount of time and devotion invested.

If you invest caring, patience and unselfishness, you get those things back. (This assumes (v.假设), of course, that you are having a relationship with someone who loves you, and not a one-sided love affair（单相思恋爱）with someone who isn’t interested.)

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In every long-term romantic situation, returns are greater when there is a monopoly (n.垄断). If you have to share your love with others, if you have to compete even after a brief while with others, forget the whole thing. You want to have monopoly bonds with your long-term lover. At least most situations work out better this way.

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The returns on your investment should at least equal (vt.等于) the cost of the investment. If you are getting less back than you put in (v.投入) over a considerable period of time (在相当长的时间里), back off (v.后退).

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Long-term investment pays off（有所回报）. The impatient day player will fare (v.进行) poorly without inside information or market-controlling power. He or she will have a few good days but years of agony in the world of love.