Are the in-laws worth it?

by Julianne Holcombe

It is every girl’s dream. She is dressed in a white gown, standing beside her father, getting ready to take that first step down the aisle. Her soon-to-be husband is standing beside his best man, looking anxiously toward the aisle. Waiting. It feels like the longest 30 seconds of both of their lives.

The ceremony is over now. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are now arm-in-arm walking down the aisle together. They have made a decision to spend the rest of their lives together. Is it the right decision for them? Have they chosen the “right” spouse?

According to economists, a person would have to look at the costs and benefits of the decision he or she has made. In the case of marriage, the costs and benefits are going to vary person to person, depending on what you want in a mate. There are many things to consider when you make a life-altering decision such as this.

Let’s look at cost as an economist. It is not necessarily an accounting cost. It is an opportunity cost. An opportunity cost is the value of the next best alternative given up when a choice is made. In the case of marriage, you may not know what potential mates you could meet in the future, but you can look at the people you have dated in the past. One would assume that the person that you do select is the best choice considering the people you have dated before. The people in your past are now part of your opportunity cost because they are the ones that you have given up or did not select.

We can break down this decision even further by looking at the marginal cost-benefit analysis of the potential marriage. When making any decision, we want our cost to equal our benefit. In the case of a marriage, one would guess that the mate that you choose will take up some of your time, attention, and thoughts, among many other things. So what are the benefits? The benefits may vary depending on what your preferences are in a mate. Those preferences may include always having someone to confide in, someone to spend your time with, to have fun with, someone that you find pretty or handsome, and so on. In making your final decision for a spouse, you want to make sure that the costs involved equal the benefits received in order to get the “most” out of your marriage. One thing to keep in mind when you think you have an equal analysis is that there can be unintended outcomes. Sometimes these outcomes are incentives and sometimes they are even more costs or side issues.

The lesson here is that when you choose a spouse to spend the rest of your life with, consider all the costs and benefits involved with the marriage. Think about why you are marrying this person and do not forget these reasons when you are having a fight. Last, always remember the incentives but do not forget the side issues. In-laws are not always going to be your friend.

http://faculty.winthrop.edu/stonebrakerr/book/marriage.htm

http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Academic/Price_Theory/PThy_Chapter_21/PThy_Chap_21.html