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Material vs. spiritual—A novel economics perspective on marriage and divorce - ScienceDirect
Source: sciencedirect.com
Article summary:
1. The main purpose for individuals to enter marriage is the production and rearing of their own children, and the gain of marriage would be maximized if the husband and wife can specialize in tasks in which they have comparative advantages.
2. The desire to meet material needs is the main reason for most poor individuals to enter marriage in undeveloped societies, whereas the desire to meet spiritual needs is the main reason for most wealthy individuals to get married in developed societies.
3. 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 opportunity cost of effort.
Article analysis:
The article "Material vs. spiritual—A novel economics perspective on marriage and divorce" presents an interesting framework for understanding the reasons behind individuals' decisions to enter into and exit from marriages. The author divides household-produced commodities into material and spiritual goods, and incorporates Maslow's psychological theory of motivation into this economic framework to explore why individuals with different preferences choose different mates, and how the drive to enter marriage has changed as society becomes more developed.
However, there are several potential biases in the article that need to be addressed. Firstly, the author relies heavily on Becker's seminal work on the production and rearing of children as the main purpose for individuals to enter marriage. While this may be true for some individuals, it is not necessarily true for all. The article fails to consider other reasons why people may choose to get married, such as companionship, love, or social status.
Secondly, the article assumes that individuals are self-interested and rational in their decision-making processes. This assumption overlooks the fact that many people make decisions based on emotions or cultural norms rather than purely rational calculations of costs and benefits.
Thirdly, while the article acknowledges that preferences for material and spiritual goods tend to change with income levels, it does not fully explore how these changes affect marriage decisions. For example, it is possible that as people become wealthier they may place less value on material goods and more value on spiritual goods such as love and companionship.
Finally, the article does not adequately address the role of gender in marriage decisions. It assumes a traditional heterosexual model of marriage where men specialize in providing material goods while women specialize in providing spiritual goods such as emotional support and childcare. This model ignores same-sex marriages or non-traditional gender roles within heterosexual marriages.
Overall, while the article presents an interesting framework for understanding marriage decisions from an economic perspective, it suffers from several biases and limitations that need to be addressed in future research.
Topics for further research:
Non-traditional reasons for getting married
Emotional and cultural factors in decision-making
Changes in preferences for material and spiritual goods with income
Wealth and its impact on marriage decisions
Gender roles in non-traditional marriages
Same-sex marriages and their impact on economic frameworks