Introduction

The age of marriage has changed drastically of the 20 century among women. An example given by Oppenheimer (1997) indicates that the single rates for women under 25 years rose from 14% in the 1960’s to 42% in the 1960’s. This suggest that either women have found a viable alternative to marriage before that age or that circumstances are forcing them not to marry by that age. A number of theories are mentioned in the studied texts that can be categorised into economic, socioeconomic and sociological theories. In this essay i will be discussing Becker’s “new home economic theory” which describes household activities as a sum of economic functions and consequently how the industrialization process affects the marriage process. I will also be discussing socioeconomic theory that shows how social factors coalesce with economic factors to cause the delay in marriage timing.

Economic theory as defined by the Princeton University online glossary is a theory of commercial activities such as the production and consumption of goods. With respect to this essay economic theory states that women’s increase in economic independence has led to a reduction in marriage desirability (Berk 1983).  This is attributed in the new home economic theory (Becker) to the industrialization process that has lead to many women foregoing household economic functions for careers that supplied them with income security hence reducing their dependence on the men for their daily needs. Hence this theory holds in part a decline to gains in marriage due to women independence is reason why there is an increase in delayed marriages.

Becker postulates that the main gain to marriage is due to the mutual dependence of both spouses due to their own specialized nature. This implies that while the woman would be concerned with household activities the man would be in charge of finding an income that would supply the family needs. Hence as women tend to take new economic roles as a result of industrialization they become less specialized in household activities and men also begin to take up new household roles.

Parsons (1949) maintains that sex role segregation is a functional necessity in the stability of marriage because it prevents disruptive competition between husband and wife. Becker (1981) in line with this thought views married men and women as potential trading partners with man focusing on market work while women are concerned with home production. This specialization provides major gains to marriage for each partner and is reduced when incomes fall and the woman is forced to participate in the market production. This leads to strain in marriages and consequently divorce and also a delay factor in single couples with women now tending to focus on the more economic aspects of her life.

Part of the economic theory can be explained from the young men’s income position, which is a largely ignored factor with regards to analyzing the change in marriage age. Young men tend to wait until they have established a career path before they get married. This largely because of their role as the provider in the family and the challenges with become the head of the household. This has led to suicides, divorce and many men absconding their duties due to the pressure of maintaining an economically sound household. In the industrial age the gains for marriage for men are declining because of increased participation of women in the labour market. This increase the delay in age of marriage for men as they find it hard to find a woman that supports his own agenda for his career by providing for his needs at home.

While having had a look at various explanations of the economic theory proposed by Becker, we can also show how sociological theory can help construct a framework Oppenheimer uses to analyze variously how social action, social processes, and social structures work. Oppenheimer further develops the theory into a socioeconomic theory by borrowing Becker’s ideas on the economic aspects of marriage and merging with social occurrences that also influence the marriage timing of the cohort. Oppenheimer (1997) indicates that marriages tend to be delayed due to the trend in many couples to cohabit before they marry. Oppenheimer postulates that in the 1940’s 3% of the women less than 25 years cohabited compared to 37% in the 1960’s. Hence cohabitation seems to becoming a stage in the marriage process. This process of cohabitation shows that women’s economic independence is not the answer to explaining why women are now marrying much later.

Cohabitation as a social occurrence also reduces the cost of search and also reduces the risk of promiscuity while pooling resources creating a more stable economic environment that can lead to successful marriages. Therefore cohabitation and the rise in delayed marriages is decreasing the rate of marital instability due to the stable nature of partners who tend to have delayed their marriage as opposed to those who marry young and consequently face greater stress due to lower capacities to deal with household challenges like providing for the family health, financial and social needs. However Oppenheimer states that the situation is different among African American women who for one reason or another find themselves as single parents and have to find their own economic independence in order to survive.

Another issue is the increase in selection and socialization in the search of the marriage partner as a result of socioeconomic issues that are arising due to the continuous industrial process .Hence assortative mating is reduced due to uncertainty about the important attributes that a prospective partner should possess leads to delay in the timing for marriage. Uncertainty also due to the establishment of ones own career also delays the timing in which a person thinks is the best time to get married in the industrial society. Oppenheimer argues that work is such an influence in structuring life that any career uncertainties will affect behaviour and attitudes towards marriage formation. This results in women not feeling ready to marry until they have achieved some career goals. As a result the search for the perfect partner with desired characteristics, like being able to provide economically or possessing certain abilities that show future economic achievements come into play in this socialization process. This shows that desirability may not necessarily be objective but is influenced by certain fantasies a woman may have with regards to a perfect partner. This analysis shows that in general women tend to be economically dependent on men even though they may have their own working careers. Hence the theory of economic independence theory does not hold against this sociological argument.

Using the Job search economic theory to describe search in marriage we can differentiate efficient searches from costly ones as a function of how one uses time and resources to efficiently find the right partner in the marriage market while observing the opportunity cost of keeping a certain partner or continuing with the search of another partner. Hence we can say if the opportunity cost of avoiding the search for a suitable partner is high then it might be better to delay ones marriage until it becomes less economically sound ( i.e when cost of the search is equal or higher than the returns of the search) to continue with the search. Therefore what tends to happen is that people will tend to look for the minimum acceptable match. This is described as anyone within the acceptability range; anyone who falls out of this range is deemed unacceptable and would therefore not be considered as a partner. However it may not be prudent to view the marriage search process from a purely economic point of view but from a social one as well, where we consider both the social and emotional aspects of a relationship and how they support the build up to marriage rather than the economic and financial aspects of the partnership. This dual assessment of marriage form a socioeconomic theory on how financial or economic factors participate with the social environment of dating or potential couples in the search process, resulting in a change in the age of marriage due to the delay in the search process.

Another crucial point to mention with regards to marriage search is how education plays a role in the increasing the efficiency of the search process. Educated people tend to be aware of more important characteristics that they need to look out for during the search as opposed to the young couples who start dating at an early age. Hence it would be better for people to delay the marriage selection process until they are confident that they have made an educated decision. This socialization process increases the stability of marriage.

In conclusion new home economic theory as proposed by Becker leaves out a lot of social actions that have been shown by Oppenheimer to contribute to the delay in the age of marriage in Industrial society. It is therefore in my view prudent to develop a socioeconomic theory based on empirical evidence to show how social and economic factors correlate.  Oppenheimer in my view has reliable theories that explain both the social and economic aspects of marriage and hence we are able to arrive at more sound conclusions as to why age of marriage is increasing among men and women.

References

Oppenheimer, V. K. (1997). Women’s employment and the gain to marriage: the specialization and trading model. Annual Review of Sociology, 23, 431-453

Oppenheimer, V. K. (1988). A theory of marriage timing: American Journal of Sociology, 97(1), 143-168

Pampel, F. C. and Peters, H. E. (1995). The Easterlin Effect. Annual Review of Sociology, 21, 163-194

Berj, R. A. and Berk, S. F. (1983). Supply-side sociology of the family; the challenge of the new home economics. Annual Review of Sociology, 9, 375-395