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Marriage and economics. What could those two, seemingly very distant, subjects have to do with each other? Quite a bit, if this very interesting article is to be believed. In it Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers argue that the expansion of the marketplace has lead to changes in how marriage works, and in how we choose our partners. While before production was a key concern, today consumption is. Put less coldly, earlier marriages were formed out of necessity, now they can to a larger extent be formed from love.

So what drives modern marriage? We believe that the answer lies in a shift from the family as a forum for shared production, to shared consumption. In case the language of economic lacks romance, let’s be clearer: modern marriage is about love and companionship. Most things in life are simply better shared with another person: this ranges from the simple pleasures such as enjoying a movie or a hobby together, to shared social ties such as attending the same church, and finally, to the joint project of bringing up children. Returning to the language of economics, the key today is consumption complementarities — activities that are not only enjoyable, but are more enjoyable when shared with a spouse. We call this new model of sharing our lives “hedonic marriage”.

It’s a good read, if you’re into these kind of things.

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HT: Arnold Kling
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