If you didn’t catch the first episode of Love Island last night, you have missed more than a visual feast of chiselled abs, fake tans, and lustful smiles. You missed an outstanding lesson in economics.

The premise of the show is simple: half a dozen gorgeous young men and women are stranded in a gorgeous villa on an island basking in gorgeous sunshine. The contestants’ objective is to make sure that they can be a partner of the opposite sex – “couple up” – by the end of each week.

Rules are strict: if you find yourself single, you are out. If you succeed in sticking it out for most of the summer, you get a shot at a big cash prize after a final vote by the public.

What’s the catch? Apart from eating and sunbathing together, the contestants need to share beds with their current partners. And the public can watch what they get up to with the aid of night vision.

Economics studies how people compete for scarce resources. In most markets, scarce resources are expensive, but if you can afford it you can pick what you want.

On Love Island, no resource is more scarce than a partner. But what is unusual about the Love Island market is that you cannot just pay for your partner. Instead you need to make sure that your partner also picks you. In other words, you need to find your best possible match.