This document discusses economist Gary Becker's application of economic tools to analyze marriage and the family. It provides statistics on marriage, divorce, and fertility rates in the US and Turkey from 1950 to 2013. Becker identified gains from marriage like increased productivity, health, wealth, and successful children through specialization between spouses and risk-sharing. The document uses production possibility curves to illustrate how productivity differs between individuals and how marriage allows for gains by specializing. It presents a marriage market model where the supply and demand for marriage depends on whether the share of output from marriage is higher for males or females.

1. Maide Yolcu
Ayşenur Sarı
MARRIAGE AND THE FAMILY-
AN ECONOMIC APPROACH

2. Gary Becker
•Nobel Prize-winning economist
•Applied economic tools to
marriage for the first time
•It is all about choices with
constraints

3. Table 3.1 Current Marital Status of U.S. Women Age 15 and
Older: 1950–2006

4. Figure 3.1 U.S. Women: Percentage Ever Married by Age, 1960,
1980 and 2006

5. Table 3.2 Percentage Point Changes in the Percentages of Women
Married and Never Married by Selected Characteristics, 1970–
2006, for Women, Age 25–64

6. Figure 3.2 U.S. Families with Children Under Age 18 by Type, 1960
and 2006

7. Table 3.3 International Statistics on Marriage, Divorce, and
Cohabitation, 2003

8. Fertility Rate of Turkey, Total (Births per Woman) (1980-2012)
(World Bank, 2014)

9. Crude Divorce Rate of Turkey between 2001-2013, (‰)
0.00
0.20
0.40
0.60
0.80
1.00
1.20
1.40
1.60
1.80
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Crude divorce
rate
(‰)
(Turkstat, 2014)

10. Crude Marriage Rate of Turkey between 2001-2013, (‰)
0.00
1.00
2.00
3.00
4.00
5.00
6.00
7.00
8.00
9.00
10.00
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Crude marriage
rate
(‰)
(Turkstat, 2014)

11. GAINS OF MARRIAGE
•Increases Productivity
•Healthier and Longer Life
•Increases wealth
•Children of married couples tend to be more successful
•Risk Sharing
•Specialization
•Economies of Scale
•Social Obligation

12. Production Possibilities for Mr. M and Ms. F

13. A Joint Production-Possibilities Curve When Mr. M and Ms. F Are
Equally Productive
•Both Mr. M and Ms. F have
same productiviy
•They share goods equally
•There’s no reason to
specialization
•There’s no gains of Marriage

14. Figure 3.6 Production-Possibility Curves for Mr. M and Ms. F
when Productivity Differs
•Mr. M’s producivity on market goods is
higher than household goods
•Ms. F’s productivity on household goods
is higher than market goods
•Wm>Wf and Hm>Hf

15. Production Possibilities and Gains to Marriage When
Productivity Differs

16. Marriage Market Equilibrium
•Need basics (M = male; F = female):
•Output:
•For single person: ZM and ZF
•For married-couple HH: ZMF
•Share of Output:
•Amount of ZMF to husband = SM
•Amount of ZMF to wife = SF

17. Marriage Market Equilibrium
•NOT assuming that SM = SF
•Note: SM + SF = ZMF
•Marriage “rule”:
•Marry if expect to be better off:
•Male: marry if SM  ZM
•Female: marry if SF  ZF
•Implies that for a married couple:
•SM + SF  ZM + ZF
•So: ZMF  ZM + ZF

18. Marriage Market Equilibrium
Supply and Demand Curves for the Marriage Market

19. Marriage Market Equilibrium
ES
ED
•Sfh: Sf is high. Marriage is a great
deal for women bot not so good
for men. There is excess surplus.
•Sfl: Sf is low. Marriage is a great
deal for men but not so good for
women. There is excess demand.