Elective Affinities
Affiliation(s)
LUISS Guido Carli, Rome, Italy. Birkbeck College, London, UK. University of Chieti and Pescara, Pescara, Italy.
LUISS Guido Carli, Rome, Italy. Birkbeck College, London, UK. University of Chieti and Pescara, Pescara, Italy.
ABSTRACT
We propose a marriage model where assortative matching results in equilibrium for reasons other than those driving similar results in the search and matching literature. A marriage is a joint venture where husband and wife contribute to the couple’s welfare by allocating their time to portfolios of risky activities. Men and women are characterised by different preferences over risk and the optimal match is between partners with the same level of risk aversion. In our model no two men (women) rank the same woman (men) as most desirable. Given that there is no unanimous ranking of candidates, everyone marries in equilibrium their most preferred partner.
We propose a marriage model where assortative matching results in equilibrium for reasons other than those driving similar results in the search and matching literature. A marriage is a joint venture where husband and wife contribute to the couple’s welfare by allocating their time to portfolios of risky activities. Men and women are characterised by different preferences over risk and the optimal match is between partners with the same level of risk aversion. In our model no two men (women) rank the same woman (men) as most desirable. Given that there is no unanimous ranking of candidates, everyone marries in equilibrium their most preferred partner.
Cite this paper
nullD. Cagno, E. Sciubba and M. Spallone, "Elective Affinities," Theoretical Economics Letters, Vol. 1 No. 3, 2011, pp. 134-136. doi: 10.4236/tel.2011.13028.
nullD. Cagno, E. Sciubba and M. Spallone, "Elective Affinities," Theoretical Economics Letters, Vol. 1 No. 3, 2011, pp. 134-136. doi: 10.4236/tel.2011.13028.
References
[1] G. Becker, “A Theory of Marriage: Part I,” Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 81, No. 4, 1973, pp. 813-846. doi:10.1086/260084 [2] G. Becker, “Treatise on the Family,” Harvard University Press, Boston, 1993. [3] T. Bergstrom, “A Survey of Theories of the Family,” In: M. Rosenzweig and O. Stark, Eds., Handbook of Popula- tion Economics, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1997. [4] Y. Weiss, “Economic Theory of Marriage and Divorce,” In: N. Smelser and B. Baltes, Eds., International Ency- clopedia of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 2000. [5] N. Browning, P. A. Chiappori and Y. Weiss, “Family Economics,” Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, in press. [6] D. Di Cagno, E. Sciubba and M. Spallone, “Choosing a Gambling Partner: Testing a Model of Mutual Insurance in the Lab,” Theory and Decision, in press. doi:10.1007/s11238-011-9267-2
[1] G. Becker, “A Theory of Marriage: Part I,” Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 81, No. 4, 1973, pp. 813-846. doi:10.1086/260084 [2] G. Becker, “Treatise on the Family,” Harvard University Press, Boston, 1993. [3] T. Bergstrom, “A Survey of Theories of the Family,” In: M. Rosenzweig and O. Stark, Eds., Handbook of Popula- tion Economics, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1997. [4] Y. Weiss, “Economic Theory of Marriage and Divorce,” In: N. Smelser and B. Baltes, Eds., International Ency- clopedia of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 2000. [5] N. Browning, P. A. Chiappori and Y. Weiss, “Family Economics,” Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, in press. [6] D. Di Cagno, E. Sciubba and M. Spallone, “Choosing a Gambling Partner: Testing a Model of Mutual Insurance in the Lab,” Theory and Decision, in press. doi:10.1007/s11238-011-9267-2