Shocker: Class on 'Sexonomics' Arouses Interest

Who could have seen this coming? And from the Canadians, no less.

Then again, they have been getting frisky of late.

A university is offering a course on 'sexonomics'.

Where economics is usually about the value of the pound versus the dollar, stocks and mortgages - but now it is about sex.

After Freakonomics, the cult best-seller which examined the economics of life, comes a university course in Sexonomics, an economic analysis of sex.

And, inevitably, it has been deluged with applicants.

Students are queuing up to enroll in The Economics of Sex and Love which discusses love, marriage, speed-dating and teenage sex in a course offered by a leading Canadian institution.

Love and sex are profoundly based in economics,' says assistant professor Marina Adshade, who normally lectures on currency fluctuation, GDP, international monetary trends and domestic spending.

'Most people would agree sex involves some form of negotiation; it involves investment and, particularly where marriage is concerned, a contract.

'There are costs and benefits to all aspects of love and sex and these are covered by economic principles.

'I could teach a course about industrial organisations and maybe only have five per cent of the students fully engaged after a while.'

In contrast, she said, the Sexonomics course would be 'something they will be really interested in.'

The 12-week course is designed for second year students at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia.

The university, which includes three former Canadian Prime Ministers among its alumni, is already considering expanding the course next year because of the high level of interest.