Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP17348
Authors: Siwan Anderson; Chris Bidner
Abstract: We outline the great potential of economics to contribute to evolution-based perspectives on marriage and the family. The main argument is that economics can be understood as the study of competition -- how the allocation of scarce resources is mediated by potentially complex forms of social interaction and conflicts of interest -- and that competition for resources is a central component of evolutionary explanations. Our argument is broad, but we illustrate it by focusing on conceptual and empirical approaches to a topic of interest to both economists and evolutionary scholars: polygyny.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: No JEL codes provided
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| competition for resources (Q34) | polygyny (J12) |
| resource inequality among males (D31) | polygyny (J12) |
| rules against polygyny (J12) | reduced competition (L19) |
| monogamy (J12) | reduced intrahousehold conflict (D13) |
| polygyny (J12) | child health outcomes (I14) |
| polygyny (J12) | child mortality (J13) |
| selection effects (C52) | child health outcomes (I14) |