Marriage – Sound Economics

A Taste for Cohabitation

Posted on January 3, 2020 by Brennan — No Comments ↓

In the past couple of decades the U.S. has seen a shift away from marriage, and towards cohabitation. The declining rate of marriages can be contextualized by the declining rate of religious worship given that marriage often a primarily religious act. However, marriage is also an economic act as married couples can enjoy benefits such as shared insurance benefits, shared pension/retirement benefits, shared social security, and tax benefits. These economic benefits are mostly marriage specific as common-law marriage is not very common in the U.S. This means that we can view these benefits as economic incentives to get married under Continue reading A Taste for Cohabitation→

Is Marriage Worth Saving?

Posted on March 23, 2016 by Alex Shaw — No Comments ↓

Marriage has long been argued as essential for building a family and properly raising children, yet, as this New York Times article discusses, more and more American children are born to unmarried parents, and consequentially, many are raised by single parents. Today, nearly 40% of new mothers aren’t married, and there is a clear racial disparity; “one in five white children, one in four Hispanics and one in two blacks live without a father at home.” Since the 1960’s, the U.S. Government has promoted marriage and two-parent families, and still does today, but it seems to not have an effect Continue reading Is Marriage Worth Saving?→