The Market for Divorce
According to what we've learned so far in Economics, it makes perfect sense to get a divorce. This article makes it clear that since 1970 when a law was passed in California to allow a no-fault divorce, they have been on the rise. Society was able to accept divorce because the law allowed it and said it was okay. The change from fault-based to no-fault based divorce laws is equivalent to an upward shift of the supply curve. The Demand Curve for divorce is the number of married couples who want a divorce. As the curves move, the divorce is determined on how low or high the divorces are on the economic model. If the divorce is low on the supply and demand curve, the couple is more likely to follow through with the divorce. The benefits of not being together anymore outweigh the benefits of staying together. Likewise, if the supply and demand curves are high, the couple should stay together. What do you think about the market for divorce being analyzed economically?
3 comments:
I find this idea very interesting, since things such as divorce can be considered a commodity. Divorce has typically been a very stable commodity with very little shifting on either the supply or demand curves. However with this no-fault style of divorce, you are going to drive down the opportunity cost of divorce for both parties involved in this relationship.
I find this way of looking at it a little different. Why should some couple get a divorce if that's what economically makes sense, shouldn't they just get a divorce if things are not going well and they are havign problems that can not be fixed?
Adding to this story I would like to throw out where divorce would be beneficial. My mother is disabled and unable to work. My father makes enough money to get by and since he does she is given nothing to compensate for being disabled. However, if my dad was to divorce my mother she would receive a compensation check for being disabled. Although my father has thought of this rise in income as a possibility he hasn't acted on it, but logically the income of the household would go up if they were to divorce. How sad is that?
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