ABC News aired a clip on March 9, 2011 which answered two questions, the first of which dealt with chore-splitting between marriage partners. In it, they find that economic theory supports a marriage that is not 50/50 (where both partners share the same duties to make the division of labor “fair”). Instead, economic theory shows that when people specialize in tasks and do them more efficiently than another, it makes sense to let that person do those tasks while the other person is doing tasks which is more suited to him/her. This is called “comparative advantage.” In the end, both spouses will end up saving time in order to do other activities with their lives. So, maybe traditional marital roles aren’t so backwards as modern society would like to make them out to be?
It is important to discuss this issue when you and your beloved are heading toward marriage. Both men and women have assumptions of how married life will be – most often based upon the home in which he or she grew up – and the lack of sharing those assumptions does not fare well for the couple when they are not made known before the union is created.
Take a look at the first part of the clip by ABC News below. (The second part of the clip is about why the authors think couples should stay mad when going to bed. This flies against the biblical wisdom of Ephesians 4:26 – and yet, they may have a small point… check out our post on Dealing with Arguments that Arise from a Lack of Rest)
Have you discussed the division of labor in your future household?
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