Economics of marriage

The economics of marriage includes the economic analysis of household formation and break up, of production and distribution decisions within the household. It is closely related to the law and economics of marriages and households. Grossbard-Shechtman (1999a and 1999b) identifies three approaches to the subject: the Marxist approach (Friedrich Engels (1884) and Himmelweit and Mohun (1977)), the neo-classical approach (Gary Becker (1974)) and the game theoretic approaches (Marilyn Manser, Murray Brown, Marjorie McElroy and Mary Jane Horney).[1][2] Marital status has a positive influence on economic status. There is a marriage prime for males that the wage of married males is 15% higher than the wage of never married male. The Uniform Marital Property Act issued clause on the distribution of marital property and individual property. The Uniform Premarital Agreements Act offers clauses to guide two spouses to make an agreement on distribution of rights and obligations before marriage.

Economic origins of marriage

Richard Wrangham puts forward the view that women cooking for men is fundamental to marriage in hunter-gatherer societies.[3]

Many such examples suggest that the mating system is constrained by the way species are socially adapted to their food supply. ... The consequence of man's economic dependence takes different forms in different societies, but recall that according to Jane Collier and Michelle Rosaldo, his needing a wife to provide food is universal among hunter-gatherers. Food, it seems, routinely drives a man's marriage decision more than the need for a sexual partner.

This extends to men stealing women.[4]

Among the Inuit, where a woman contributed no food calories, her cooking and production of warm, dry hunting clothes were vital: a man cannot both hunt and cook. The pressure could drive widowers or bachelors to neighboring territories in an attempt to steal a woman, even if it meant killing her husband. The problem was so pervasive that ... unfamiliar men would normally be killed even before questions were asked. Lust was not the motivation for stealing wives. "The vital importance of a wife to perform domestic services provided the most usual motive for abduction," according to ethnographer David Riches.

Jeremy Greenwood and Nezih Guner (2009) argue that technological progress in the household sector, say due to the advent of dishwashers, frozen foods, vacuum cleaners, washing machines, tupperware, etc. has reduced the need for labor in the home. As a result, it is much easier to live alone. This has resulted in a smaller fraction of the population being married and a higher rate of divorce.[5]

Legislation and reform of marriage

Uniform Marital Property Act

Traditional asset division system stated that what a spouse owns before marriage or personal earnings during marriage are considered as separated property. Uniform Marital Property（UMPA)，a marital law that was first passed by the Uniform Law Commissioners in 1983,[6] considered a family as an economic entity. Each spouse owns half of the marital property and their individual property, which includes property before marriage and individual income such as gifts from a third person or added value on individual property before marriage. If there is uncertainty on ownership, the property will be considered as a community property. Both spouses have the responsibility to protect their marital property.[7] So far, only Wisconsin has adopted UMPA,[8] and suggestions have been made by which to revise UMPA before it is adopted in any other state.[9]

Uniform Premarital Agreements Act

Premarital agreement is an agreement that two individuals signed to distribute marital rights and obligations of each individual during marriage, after divorce, or death of one spouse.[10] Uniform Premarital Agreements Act (UPAA) was issued by the Uniform Law Commission (ULC) in 1983 and has been employed by 27 states.[11] It includes rights and duties responsible to determine when and where a premarital agreement is practicable. It requires the premarital agreement to be in writing and signed by both spouses.[12] UPAA also record that a party must fairly disclose his or her property to another party if he or she wants to enforce the premarital agreement.[13] The adoption of UPAA differentiated in each individual states.

StatesYear of AdoptionState-Specific Features
Arizona1991Agreement needs to be notarized
Arkansas1987Agreement must be acknowledged by both spouses;parties need to consult with legal counsel before waiving the right to disclosure.
California1986Abandon the allowance of modifying and eliminating spousal support.;Full disclosure of property and financial duties.
Connecticut1995Property includes both tangible and intangible property; agreement does not need to be in writing and signed; added child custody issue; determined how and when agreement is practicable; and "written schedule"
Delaware1996Removes language in section6(b)
District of Columbia1995Allows same-sex couple to have premarital agreement.
Florida2007Spousal support cannot be waived.
Hawaii1987None
Idaho1995Agreement must be acknowledged and proved
Illinois1990Changes for enforcement section; language of the UPPA was changed.
Indiana1997Organization structure;eliminates the fair disclosure on financial and property information the other party; language change
Iowa1991Income and earnings does not consider as property in section 596.1;does not allow using agreement to contract about spousal support.
Kansas1988Added a standard to determine the voluntariness of the agreement.
Maine1987None
Montana1987None
Nebraska1994None
Nevada1989Language changes
New Jersey1988The definition of premarital agreement; Give same-sex couple rights; Signed, acknowledged of agreement by both parties and statement of asset attach to premarital agreement.
New Mexico1995Agreement must be acknowledged in New Mexico;agreement cannot affect the right of child and spousal support; Removed subsection(b)
North Carolina1987language changes in section 52B-7(B)
North Dakota1985definition changes, not need to be in writing; adding new section about handling unconscionable provisions of premarital agreement.
Oregon1987None
Rhode Island1987Word changes enforcement section; insert subsection(b) in

15-17-6

South Dakota1989No strict limitation on signing and writing the agreement;Delete the modification and elimination of spousal support in agreement.
Texas1997Deleted the modification and elimination of spousal support in agreement. Add subsection to 4.006
Utah1994Language changes; add protection to child; Word changes in enforcement section.
Virginia1985Change in 20-150(4) allow to contract about child support; Add statement to 20-151(b) financial and property information does not need to be fairly disclosed

[14]

Spier (1992) has pointed out that there may be fewer prenuptial agreements than would be socially optimal. The reason is that if you ask your fiancée to sign such an agreement, you might signal that you fear that the probability of divorce will be larger than your fiancée would have thought otherwise.[15] Smith (2003) provides a survey of the law and economics literature on marriage contracts.[16]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Grossbard-Shechtman, Shoshana (1999)a "Marriage" in Encyclopedia of Political Economy, edited by Phillip O'Hara. London: Routledge
  2. ↑ Grossbard-Shechtman, Shoshana (1999)b "Marriage, Theories of," in Elgar Companion to Feminist Economics, edited by Meg Lewis and Janice Peterson. Aldershot, U.K.: Edward Elgar
  3. ↑ Wrangham, Richard (2009). How Cooking Made us Human. p. 175.
  4. ↑ Wrangham, Richard (2009). How Cooking Made us Human. p. 169.
  5. ↑ Greenwood, Jeremy and Nezih Guner (2009), "Marriage and Divorce since World War II: Analyzing the Role of Technological Progress on the Formation of Households," NBER Macroeconomics Annual 2008, v. 23 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press), 231-276.
  6. ↑ Krause, Harry (1994). Family Law: Cases, Comments and Questions. St. Paul, Minn: West Publishing. pp. 128, 427–428.
  7. ↑ "Marital Property Act Summary". Uniform Law Commission. Uniform Law Commission. Archived from the original on 12 February 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  8. ↑ "Marital Property Act". Uniform Law Commission. Uniform Law Commission.
  9. ↑ Reppy, William (1 January 1984). "The Uniform Marital Property Act: Some Suggested Revisions for a Basically Sound Act". Houston Law Review. pp. 679–716. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  10. ↑ "Uniform Premarital and Martial Agreement Act" (PDF). Uniform Law Commission. Uniform Law Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 February 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  11. ↑ "the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act and Its Variations Throughout the States" (PDF). The American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. 23 (335). 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  12. ↑ "Uniform Premarital and Martial Agreement Act" (PDF). Uniform Law Commission. Uniform Law Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 February 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  13. ↑ "Premarital Agreement Act Summary". Uniform Law Commission. Uniform Law Commission. Archived from the original on 12 February 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  14. ↑ "the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act and Its Variations Throughout the States" (PDF). The American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. 23 (335). 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  15. ↑ Spier, Kathryn E. (1992). "Incomplete Contracts and Signalling". The RAND Journal of Economics. 23 (3): 432–443. doi:10.2307/2555872. ISSN 0741-6261. JSTOR 2555872.
  16. ↑ Smith, Ian (2003). "The Law and Economics of Marriage Contracts". Journal of Economic Surveys. 17 (2): 201–226. doi:10.1111/1467-6419.00193. ISSN 1467-6419. S2CID 154600414.

Further references

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