From Shame to Game in One Hundred Years: The Rise in Premarital Sex and its Destigmitization

61 Pages Posted: 24 Nov 2011

See all articles by Jesús Fernández-Villaverde

Jesús Fernández-Villaverde

University of Pennsylvania - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Jeremy Greenwood

University of Pennsylvania - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Nezih Guner

ICREA-MOVE; Autonomous University of Barcelona; Barcelona Graduate School of Economics (Barcelona GSE)

Date Written: November 2011

Abstract

Societies socialize children about sex. This is done in the presence of peer-group effects, which may encourage undesirable behavior. Parents want the best for their children. Still, they weigh the marginal gains from socializing their children against its costs. Churches and states may stigmatize sex, both because of a concern about the welfare of their flocks and the need to control the cost of charity associated with out-of-wedlock births. Modern contraceptives have profoundly affected the calculus for instilling sexual mores. As contraception has improved there is less need for parents, churches and states to inculcate sexual mores. Technology affects culture.

Keywords: Add Health, children, church and state, contraception, culture, out-of-wedlock births, parents, peer- group effects, premarital sex, shame, socialization, stigmatization, technological progress

JEL Classification: E1, E13, J10, J13, N0, O11, O33

Suggested Citation

Fernández-Villaverde, Jesús and Greenwood, Jeremy and Guner, Nezih, From Shame to Game in One Hundred Years: The Rise in Premarital Sex and its Destigmitization (November 2011). CEPR Discussion Paper No. DP8667, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1964154

Jesús Fernández-Villaverde (Contact Author)

University of Pennsylvania - Department of Economics ( email )

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Jeremy Greenwood

University of Pennsylvania - Department of Economics ( email )

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National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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Nezih Guner

ICREA-MOVE ( email )

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EDIFICI B
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Autonomous University of Barcelona ( email )

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Cerdañola del Valles
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Spain

Barcelona Graduate School of Economics (Barcelona GSE) ( email )

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Spain

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