The Law and Economics of Marriage and Divorce

Paperback: 203 pages Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 1 edition (March 4, 2002) Language: English Published by the press syndicate of the university of Cambridge What sort of contract is marriage? What does it offer the parties? What are the difficulties of enforcement, and the result of failed effective enforcement? This book takes an economic approach to marriage and divorce, considering the key role of 'incentives' in family law: it highlights the possible adverse consequences emanating from faulty legal design, while demonstrating that good family law should provide incentives for consistent and honest behavior. Economists, specialists in the economic analysis of law, and academic lawyers discuss recent advances in specialist work on marriage, cohabitation, and divorce. Chapters are grouped around four topics: the contractual perspectives on marriage commitment; the regulatory framework surrounding divorce; bargaining and commitment issues relating to marriage and near-marriage arrangements; and finally empirical work, which focuses on the impact of more liberal divorce laws. This important new study will be of considerable interest to lawyers, policy-makers and economists concerned with family law. Contents Introduction Antony W. Dnes And Robert Rowthorn Marriage: the long-term contract Lloyd R. Cohen Marital commitment and the legal regulation of divorce Elizabeth S. Scott Mutual consent divorce Allen M. Parkman An economic approach to adultery law Eric Rasmusen Louisiana’s covenant marriage law: recapturing the meaning of marriage for the sake of the children Katherine Shaw Spaht Cohabitation and marriage Antony W. Dnes Marriage as a signal Robert Rowthorn For better or for worse? Is bargaining in marriage and divorce efficient? Martin Zelder Weak men and disorderly women: divorce and the division of labor Steven L. Nock And Margaret F. Brinig The impact of legal reforms on marriage and divorce Douglas W. Allen European divorce laws, divorce rates, and their consequences Ian Smith ISBN 0-511-02953-5 eBook (Adobe Reader) ISBN 0-521-80933-9 hardback ISBN 0-521-00632-5 paperback

The key role of "incentives" in family law is considered in this economic approach to family law. The book discusses the possible adverse consequences emanating from faulty legal design, while demonstrating that good family law should provide incentives for consistent and honest behavior. Economists, specialists in the economic analysis of law, and academic lawyers discuss recent advances in specialized studies of marriage, cohabitation, and divorce. This important new work will be of considerable interest to lawyers, policy-makers and economists concerned with family law.