ABSTRACT
The study of the dynamic interaction of male and female sexual strategies is a prime candidate for the joint application of economic and evolutionary theory. Evolutionary economics of this sort are revealed among the Gusii people of Kenya. During the late 1930s, brides were expensive, costing a man from eight to twelve cows, one to three bulls, and eight to twelve goats. Although both sexes indicated that "kindness" was the number one priority, men and women differed consistently from each other and in accord with evolutionary theory. Employing the concept of Evolutionarily Stable Strategies (ESS) pioneered by evolutionary theorist John Maynard Smith, Richard Dawkins attempts to discover if there are ESSs for male and female courtship. Evolution, operating on the human psyche, seems to have developed a technique for getting males to tell the truth about their qualities and characteristics.
