Marriage

The Economic Advantages of Marriage

This week's Economist has an excellent articel on Marriage in America, entitled "The frayed knot". It talks about how the divorce rate is actually decreasing in mid to upper socio-economic classed American famlies increasing in couples and families placed lower on the socio-economic ladder. It seems that marriage can increase stabilitiy in terms of economic power, social stability, and producitivity. Of course what the study implies is that the benefits of marriage most occur when marriage is chosen, entered into by choice, as opposed to necessity, and in particular at a later age as opposed to late adolescence/early adult-hood because of unexpected children.

All of this analysis is based solely on systemic economics in the American GDP and indivdual family financial power since 1994. The article got me thinking about the wide governmental impetus to protect the historic and traditional institution of marriage. Those initiatives talk all about moral, culture and religion. This article - which didn't focus on those issues - simply states that our governement should encourage all committed couples to marry, not only for their own financial well-being, but also for the financial stability of our national system. Read the article online here.