We develop a theoretical model of mating behavior and parental investment in children under asymmetry in kin … recognition between men and women that provides a microfoundation for the institution of marriage. In the model, men and women …. As a socially sanctioned commitment device among partners, the institution of marriage reduces this risk by restraining …

This paper is the first of its kind to study utility interdependence in marriage using information on subjective well …

of marriage and two children as a typical family unit is negative for women in the labor force. …This paper empirically examines the life-time joint decision problem of marriage, childbearing, and labor force … lower for less-educated women. As regards family formation, utility gains and losses from the first child are insignificant …

of the family. The discussion references many papers from anthropology and biology. Because of the intimate connection … family from the study of evolutionary biology. Given the increased prevalence in recent decades of unwed parenthood, divorce … between the family and reproduction, it should not be surprising that there is much to be learned about the economics of the …