Faith & Economics—Number 51—Spring 2008—Pages 1–29. Economics and the Marriage Wars © 2008 Association of Christian Economists

opinions expressed, and any errors, remain our own responsibility. Abstract: We critique the economic analysis of marriage and divorce descending from Becker (1981): we call this the “economic ” approach. Marriage is based on the “productive ” gains available from specialization in market production and household production, and on the production of children. In the more recent development of the theory, the husband and wife bargain over the gains. This analysis contrasts with the “covenant ” view of marriage which is based on the Judeo-Christian tradition. The ethical focus of the covenant view is self-giving love, which is not dependent on economic efficiency. We suggest that the changing attitudes to marriage and divorce in the West may reflect “motivation crowding out, ” as the economic approach erodes the values underpinning the covenant view. Marriage, like the monarchy over the last three centuries, remains popular in many quarters. But the mere existence of an institution can mask its wholesale transformation. n a social environment where a significant degree of social mobility