On 17-Sep-12 1:11 PM, Deepa Mohan wrote: > I was musing on the effect widespread birth control will have on the > institution of marriage.
Here's one attempt to start answering that question: http://economics.uchicago.edu/pdf/Chiappori_111306.pdf Abstract It has been widely argued that innovations in birth control technology during the last decades have affected not only women’s fertility choices, but generally their position in families and society. We analyze, from a theoretical perspective, the impact of these innovations on the intrahousehold allocation of resources. We consider a model of frictionless matching on the marriage market in which women differ in their preferences for children. The qualitative features of the equilibrium depend on whether men or women are in excess supply on the marriage market. If women are in excess supply, then an improvement in the birth control technology generally increases the ’power’, hence the welfare, of all women, including those who are not interested in the new technology. However, this ’empowerment’ effect crucially relies on the availability of the new technology to single women. Should the innovation be reserved to married women (as was initially the case for the pill), the conclusion may be reversed, resulting in a ’disempowerment’ effect. Finally, various extensions are considered. -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
