Why Marriage Is the Best Engine of Economic Growth

When most people think about marriage in a political context, they see it as a moral issue, like abortion, assisted suicide, or the death penalty. Republicans see marriage as divinely ordained, the best environment in which to raise children, and a fundamental part of a civil society. Democrats see marriage as just one lifestyle option among many, but one that should be available to all, regardless of sexual orientation.

To the extent that marriage is viewed as an economic issue, it is usually in the context of how marriage can benefit the individual. Married couples have a built-in roommate, which can help them save money on housing. In addition to saving on rent, married couples are often offered lower interest rates on mortgages, making it easier for them to buy a home and build wealth.

In terms of how marriage affects the economy more broadly, you could argue that marriage is bad. More single people mean more money spent on rent. Single people are less likely to cook for themselves and eat out more often. They’re also more likely to pay someone else to clean their house and do their laundry.

All of these paid services contribute to our country’s gross domestic product. And since none of these services pay for themselves, more single people means more people with full-time jobs and fewer stay-at-home parents or part-time parents. That means more jobs and higher labor force participation, and most economists believe that’s all good for growth.

Lower GDP, fewer jobs, fewer people in the labor force—it sounds like marriage is pretty bad for the economy. Maybe it’s a good thing that our nation’s social safety net programs make it harder for low-income couples to get married and stay married.

But what if the way we measure the economy is completely wrong? What if a father cooking for his children is as valuable as ordering an Uber Eats? What if a mother caring for her children at home is as valuable as paying someone else to care for them?

What if the services parents provide to each other and to their children are actually more valuable than those provided by strangers?

After all, there is ample empirical evidence that married parents are more likely to have economically successful children than unmarried parents. Children of married parents are less likely to have problems in school, more likely to complete high school, more likely to go to college, and more likely to find employment than children raised by unmarried parents.

The economic benefits of marriage extend beyond the home. Harvard researchers found that poor neighborhoods with higher rates of fathers at home had higher rates of economic mobility for all children in the neighborhood. More than education, more than race, more than income—marriage was the most important factor in determining which neighborhoods had the highest rates of children moving up the economic ladder. The results were especially strong for boys, who, the researchers suggested, benefited from seeing other fathers in the neighborhood as role models.

There’s also evidence that marriage enriches couples. A recent Federal Reserve study found that single adults ages 25 to 34 have a median net worth of $7,341, while cohabiting couples have a median net worth almost twice as high, at $17,372. That makes sense, since doubling the number of people in a household should double the household’s net worth.

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But for married couples ages 25 to 34, the median net worth was $68,210. That’s a $50,000 marriage bonus. There seems to be real economic value in two people coming together to plan their lives together.

There are many noneconomic reasons to get married. Married people are happier, healthier, and more active in their communities than single people. But there are real economic benefits, too, and lawmakers who want a stronger economy should do everything they can to help young couples get married and stay married.