He's richer, she's poorer when couples tie the knot

Marriage is out of fashion and as yet shows no sign of recovery. The number of marriages in Britain last year fell to the lowest level since the 1860s, when the population was much smaller. The number had been rising slightly prior to that, and the explanation for the sudden fall was that the authorities had tightened up on sham marriages - when people go through the ceremony simply so that one of them can get British citizenship.

This seems a bit dispiriting, all the more so since most of the research seems to suggest that marriage is good for people: they live longer, are happier and so on. Politicians are pondering ways that the bond might be strengthened, perhaps by tax incentives. But now comes new evidence that while marriage is fine for men, it may not be so good for women. Two studies in the latest issue of The Economic Journal give it the thumbs down.

One, by Helene Couprie of the University of Toulouse, looks at the gender balance in marriage. Take housework. Single women spend an average of 10 hours a week on this, while single men spend seven; but if they form a union, women spend 15 hours a week, and men only five. This is British data, not French, and it looks at all couples, not just married ones. Apparently, women have more taste for housework but, even allowing for that, they still get much less out of being a couple than men do.

It is no better in France. The other study, by Olivier Donni of the University of Cergy-Pontoise, looks at what happens to consumption in French households when their income goes up. It seems that any increase goes largely to boost the man's consumption and only a small portion goes to the woman.

The author believes the way forward is to try to improve women's negotiating position within a marriage - for example, by finding ways of narrowing pay differentials. Who gets to spend the money should be determined by "fierce negotiation" between spouses - something that may well be correct but does rather explain why people don't want to get married. Fierce negotiation, be it in French or English, does not sound like a great way of getting a marriage to run more smoothly.

What we need to know next is what might make marriages work better. The new interest of economists in studying happiness is intriguing partly because it uncovers more puzzles than it solves. (For example, why are Brazilians happier than the Japanese, when they are poorer and have much wider income differentials?) To their credit, economists are starting to delve into fascinating areas, even if the results are sometimes a bit glum.

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