Marriage and the Economy
explores how marriage influences the monetized economy as well as the household economy.
Marriage institutions are to the household economy what business institutions are to the
monetized economy, and marital status is clearly related to the household economy.
Marriage also influences the economy as conventionally measured via its impact on labor
supply, workers' productivity, savings, consumption, and government programs such as
welfare programs and social security. The macro-economic analyses presented here are based
on the micro-economic foundations of cost/benefit analysis, game theory, and market
analysis.
Micro-economic analysis of
marriage, divorce, and behavior within marriages are investigated by a number of
specialists in various areas of economics. Western values and laws have been very
successful at transforming the way the world does business, but its success at maintaining
individual commitments to family values is less impressive.
348 pages