Search Theory

Every married couple has a story about how they met. Maybe their parents arranged the wedding. Maybe they started off as mismatched partners in a corrupt police department and learned to love and trust each other through a series of harrowing adventures. Maybe they used an online dating site.

Whatever the method, the marriage has a backstory. Same with any financial transaction. Buyers don't just magically appear when you have something to sell. Transversely, sellers don't just show up at your door the second you want to buy. In order for commerce to take place, buyers and sellers have to...find each other.

Search theory is the study of that effort. The field considers what's known as "transactional frictions": the things (big and small) that impede a market from operating perfectly. Like, when a buyer and seller initially don't like each other because they make superficial assumptions one another, but, over time, realize a mutual attraction and...wait, we're back in romantic comedy territory again.