The Merger of Populations, the Incidence of Marriages, and Aggregate Unhappiness

ZEF Discussion Paper on Development Policy No. 153

21 Pages Posted: 2 Aug 2011

See all articles by Oded Stark

Oded Stark

University of Bonn; University of Warsaw; University of Tuebingen

Franz Rendl

Alpen-Adria-University Klagenfurt - Department of Economics

Marcin Jakubek

Polish Academy of Sciences (PAS) - Institute of Economics (INE PAN)

Date Written: July 2, 2011

Abstract

Let a society’s unhappiness be measured by the aggregate of the levels of relative deprivation of its members. When two societies of equal size, F and M, merge, unhappiness in the merged society is shown to be higher than the sum of the levels of unhappiness in the constituent societies when apart; merger alone increases unhappiness. But when societies F and M merge and marriages are formed such that the number of households in the merged society is equal to the number of individuals in one of the constituent societies, unhappiness in the merged society is shown to be lower than the aggregate unhappiness in the two constituent societies when apart. This result obtains regardless of which individuals from one society form households with which individuals from the other, and even when the marriages have not (or not yet) led to income gains to the married couples from increased efficiency, scale economies, and the like. While there are various psychological reasons for people to become happier when they get married as opposed to staying single, the very formation of households reduces social distress even before any other happiness-generating factors kick in.

Keywords: Merger of populations, Integration of societies, Unhappiness, Marriages, Relative deprivation

JEL Classification: D0, D10, D31, D63

Suggested Citation

Stark, Oded and Rendl, Franz and Jakubek, Marcin, The Merger of Populations, the Incidence of Marriages, and Aggregate Unhappiness (July 2, 2011). ZEF Discussion Paper on Development Policy No. 153, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1903804 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1903804

Oded Stark (Contact Author)

University of Bonn

Walter-Flex-Str. 3
Bonn, NRW 53113
Germany

University of Warsaw

Dluga Street 44/50
Warsaw, 00-241
Poland

University of Tuebingen

Wilhelmstr. 19
Tuebingen, Baden Wuerttemberg 72074
Germany

Franz Rendl

Alpen-Adria-University Klagenfurt - Department of Economics ( email )

Universitaetsstrasse 65-67
Klagenfurt, A-9020
Austria

HOME PAGE: http://www.uni-klu.ac.at/vwl/inhalt/18.htm

Marcin Jakubek

Polish Academy of Sciences (PAS) - Institute of Economics (INE PAN) ( email )

Palace of Culture and Science
Pl. Defilad 1
Warsaw, 00-901
Poland

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