Economics, law, and covenant marriage

Covenant marriage may be difficult to understand as a gender issue. However, marriage and divorce are closely linked to workforce participation and child rearing. This piece looks at new proposals for choices in divorce regime from legal, economic, and social perspectives, concluding that the option of contracting a more permanent form of marriage increases the possibilities for women and signals societal interest in promoting more stable families. The article favorably compares Louisiana covenant marriage legislation to other states' suggestions for returns to fault-only regimes, and pays some attention to the role one state's marriage and divorce laws play in the federal system.