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Why are there singles: Being single in equilibrium as a partner discipline device

Author

Listed:
  • Kitae Sohn

    (University at Albany, SUNY)

Abstract

Although people constantly search for partners, there are always some ones who are left as singles. This paper provides a simple model to demonstrate that this can happen even in the environment most conducive to partnership, when monitoring infidelity is not perfect. The intuition is that, when having a partner is preferred to being single, being single can be used as a discipline device to prevent infidelity.

Suggested Citation

  • Kitae Sohn, 2008. "Why are there singles: Being single in equilibrium as a partner discipline device," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 10(10), pages 1-6.
    • Handle: RePEc:ebl:ecbull:eb-08j60004
    as

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    File URL: http://www.accessecon.com/pubs/EB/2008/Volume10/EB-08J60004A.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ken Burdett & Melvyn G. Coles, 1997. "Marriage and Class," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 112(1), pages 141-168.
    2. Shapiro, Carl & Stiglitz, Joseph E, 1984. "Equilibrium Unemployment as a Worker Discipline Device," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 74(3), pages 433-444, June.
    3. Becker, Gary S, 1973. "A Theory of Marriage: Part I," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 81(4), pages 813-846, July-Aug..
    4. Lundberg, Shelly & Pollak, Robert A, 1993. "Separate Spheres Bargaining and the Marriage Market," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 101(6), pages 988-1010, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Amitrajeet A. Batabyal, 2018. "Marital Infidelity: A Game-Theoretic Analysis," Journal of Quantitative Economics, Springer;The Indian Econometric Society (TIES), vol. 16(1), pages 227-233, March.
    2. Limor Dina Gonen & Tchai Tavor & Uriel Spiegel, 2025. "Examining Marital Infidelity via Game Theory," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-22, July.
    3. Batabyal, Amitrajeet & Beladi, Hamid, 2016. "Cheating on Your Spouse: A Game-Theoretic Analysis," MPRA Paper 75758, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • J6 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers
    • D8 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty

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