> On Mon, Apr 6, 2009 at 4:18 PM, Radhika, Y. <radhik...@gmail.com> wrote: >> I didn't realize a flat screen TV could be a determining factor in marrying >> someone-guess i would never have made it to any matrimonial list in any case >> especially since i clean my own bathroom! my husband had only an >> air-mattress in his name thanks to his free wheeling, globetrotting >> lifestyle prior to our marriage. the only concession he made to lifestyle >> were his golfclubs and icehockey equipment. > > Marriage has historically been an economic arrangement first and > foremost, a partnership to weather the rough waters of life. Ancient > Rome at the peak of its affluence saw a decline in marriages because > people saw no reason to marry. This led to the introduction of the tax > sop for married couples that most modern states continue to this day.
Shot in the dark - skewed sex ratio apart, what about female life expectancy, infant mortality rates? If females had lower life expectancy and infant mortality was high, society as such would move to polygamy. Once female and male life expectancy got closer, and infant mortality rate was lower, given the need for a proper home for the child, society as a whole would have encouraged monogamy. And when life expectancy and quality of life reach their peak, and there are no perceived threats, society as such loses the will to reproduce.... Simplistic perhaps, but somehow I feel there is more to all this than just economics. I tried to find some study which captured life expectancy trends for males and females. Kiran
