Economic Wisdom to Apply in Your Twenties

Chapter 70

Chapter 9 In your twenties, when the prince and princess walk to the other end of the red carpet

Some people say that in the eyes of mathematicians, marriage is 1+1; in the eyes of physicists, marriage is positive and negative; in the eyes of philosophers, marriage is man and woman; and in the eyes of economists, marriage is costs and benefits.If you are still struggling with why human beings get married, maybe you are hesitating whether you should get married, then try to weigh it with economic rationality; if you think that the benefits of marriage will be greater than your costs, then get married !
Chapter 1 The world of two people is better than one

Marriage is like a bridge, connecting two completely lonely worlds. —Keir Kessler
Marriage is the essence of a complete life. — Oswald Schwartz

Marriage is essentially an ethical relationship, and marriage is ethical love with legal significance. — Hegel
The foundation of marriage is love, attachment, and respect. — Leonidova
A marriage without conflict is almost as inconceivable as a country without crisis. — Maurois
Marriage is a book, Chapter 1 is written in psalms, and the rest are bland prose. — Bavarian Nix
Commitment is the foundation of a happy and long-lasting marital relationship. —Florence Isaacs
Marriage is not a lottery, even if you lose, you can't just tear it up. — Knowles
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From ancient times to the present, there have been endless comments and debates about love and marriage. Whether ordinary people, scholars, or experts, everyone has a different understanding of marriage.Whether people think that marriage is a siege or a tomb, no matter how fiercely people argue, in fact, most people are still willing to plunge into the palace of marriage.

Economists also have their thoughts on marriage.Economists believe that love and marriage are like other human behaviors. They bring people real benefits, so they also need to be chosen rationally and conform to the rational analysis of economics. Becker, the Nobel Prize winner in economics in 1992, said: "Because men and women compete for a spouse, it can be assumed that there is a market in marriage." (In fact, the emergence of various dating agencies or matchmaking companies is enough Explain that the marriage market exists) Becker pointed out that when a person believes that the expected utility of getting married exceeds the expected utility of staying single, he will decide to marry.

The benefits that marriage brings to people are very obvious, which can be roughly summarized into five aspects:

1. Obtain sexual satisfaction and emotional sustenance.Marriage makes sexual partners long-term and stable, and makes sex life safe.Especially when AIDS is threatening human beings today, a stable and healthy sexual partner is good for both parties.

2. Marriage can save a lot of living costs.There is a saying, "Two people need two sets of kitchen utensils to live alone, but they only need one set of kitchen utensils after they get married".When you are single, you pay for rent, furniture, food, etc. yourself. After you get married, you live together and share many resources, which saves a lot of costs.

3. Ability to obtain economies of scale.Men and women with different professional advantages and differences in ability and income can achieve a complementary "win-win" through marriage.Single individuals take on several jobs, not only working outside to make money, but also cooking, laundry, cleaning, etc.However, after marriage, the husband and wife can divide the responsibilities, saving time and cost.

4. Provide credit to each other and coordinate the benefits of human capital investment.For example, one person supports another party in doing business, and finally realizes an increase in total utility.

5. Play the role of disaster prevention insurance.For example, one party is sick, someone is cared for, and someone pays medical bills in a state that is unemployed due to illness.

Marriage, as a durable consumer product, has the characteristics of gradually accumulating and increasing value. Driven by the scale effect, some unique effects of marriage will gradually emerge, such as emotional sustenance, family welfare, integration of knowledge and wisdom, and the benefits brought by children. fun, wait.With so many expected benefits, most people of course choose to get married.

Some people say that in the eyes of mathematicians, marriage is 1+1; in the eyes of physicists, marriage is positive and negative; in the eyes of philosophers, marriage is man and woman; and in the eyes of economists, marriage is costs and benefits.If you are still struggling with why human beings get married, maybe you are hesitating whether you should get married, then try to weigh it with economic rationality; if you think that the benefits of marriage will be greater than your costs, then get married !
Wisdom Pieces: An Economic Analysis of The Bachelorette
1. The cost of making friends for single women is high.Married women rarely go out, while single women often appear in various lively and fashionable occasions.Because there is no durable consumer goods for marriage, single women need to use daily consumer goods such as making friends instead.Of course, making friends may also involve a single woman's search motivation, to search for her consumer durables.

2. Single women have more psychological investment.Single women are more likely to lose balance in their relationships and careers. They need to talk to friends, buy teddy bears or pets, and even need alcohol and medicine.When the psychological imbalance reaches a certain level, marriage may become a new choice for single women.

3.Single women invest more in security for the future and old age.A single woman will worry more about the future, and she will find ways to protect herself.Once a certain age is reached, such as over 35 years old, single women will start to make arrangements for retirement, and will be more willing to purchase social insurance.Therefore, they are actually an important market for insurance.

(End of this chapter)