Material vs. spiritual—A novel economics perspective on marriage and divorce |
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Authors: | Xuemei Liu |
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Institution: | aDepartment of Economics, California State University Long Beach, 1250 Bellflower Boulevard, Long Beach, CA 90840, United States |
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Abstract: | By dividing household-produced commodities into material and spiritual goods, and incorporating Maslow's psychological theory of motivation into this economic framework, I explore why individuals with different preferences choose different mates, and how the drive to enter marriage has changed as society becomes more developed. I then study the optimal effort for individuals to devote to marriage. I argue that divorce is mainly caused by the reduction of effort that couples devote to marriage, which might be a rational decision in response to changes in preferences, household productivity, and the opportunity cost of effort. |
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Keywords: | Spiritual goods Material goods Effort Marriage Divorce |
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