Desperate Housewives? Communication Difficulties and the Dynamics of Marital (Un)Happiness

Dados Bibliográficos

ID9716294
AutoresPeter Thompson (0000-0003-4661-6233, Florida International University, autor correspondente)
Ano2008
Volume118
Fascículo532
Páginas1640-1669
Data de publicação2008-10-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoThe Economic Journal (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0013-0133 • E-ISSN: 1468-0297
EditoraOxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1111/j.1468-0297.2008.02184.x
OpenAlexW2127142351
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas3
Referências citadas54

The quality of a marriage depends on the proximity of a collective action to a unknown target. Individuals receive private signals about the target, and can communicate them only imperfectly to their spouses. Because of imperfect communication, spouses may hold different beliefs about the optimal action. If a couple's beliefs diverge too widely, one or both of them may prefer to dissolve the marriage. The article explores how poor communication contributes to marital unhappiness, as well as its implications for the dynamics of divorce risk, the welfare properties of divorce decisions and the role of counselling. Copyright © The Author(s). Journal compilation © Royal Economic Society 2008

Dynamics (music · Happiness · Media studies · Pedagogy · Sociology · Family Dynamics and Relationships · Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics · Psychology · Social Psychology · Work-Family Balance Challenges