A society with fewer marriages may be happier, but it also worsens economic inequality.
I was having a conversation recently about the future of wealth — what can I say, I am an economist — when I heard an argument that was so retro I thought it was 1982: America needs to revive the stigma against being single. As a single person myself, my first reaction was indignation. Then, after a few moments, another thought occurred to me: Maybe that’s not a terrible idea.
Americans aren’t getting married as much as they used to. In some ways that reflects a more liberated society in which people can live the lives they want, with no judgment. But the rise in singleness — as distinct from unmarried but living together — is creating what economists call a negative externality. Perhaps the stigma against singlehood had some benefit. Personally, if I must endure some cost to being single, I would prefer the disapproval of society over being taxed. And it may be more cost-effective.
Continue reading the entire piece here at Bloomberg Opinion (paywall)
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Allison Schrager is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a contributing editor of City Journal.
Photo by Christoph Wagner/Getty Images
