Francesconi, Marco, Ghiglino, Christian and Perry, Motty (2013) On the origin of the family. Working Paper. Coventry, UK: University of Warwick, Department of Economics. Warwick economics research papers series (TWERPS), Volume 2013 (Number 1028).

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Abstract

We present a game theoretic model to explain why people form life long monogamous families.
Three components are essential in our framework, paternal investment, fatherhood
uncertainty, and, perhaps the most distinctive feature of all, the overlap of children of different
ages. When all three conditions are present, monogamy is the most efficient form of
sexual organization in the sense that it yields greater survivorship than serial monogamy,
group marriage, and polygyny. Monogamy is also the only configuration that fosters altruistic
ties among siblings. Finally, our result sheds light to the understanding of why
most religions center around the monogamous fidelity family.

Item Type:	Working or Discussion Paper (Working Paper)
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BL Religion H Social Sciences > HM Sociology H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman
Divisions:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Economics
Series Name:	Warwick economics research papers series (TWERPS)
Publisher:	University of Warwick, Department of Economics
Place of Publication:	Coventry, UK
Official Date:	2013
Dates:	Date Event 2013 Published
Volume:	Volume 2013
Number:	Number 1028
Number of Pages:	51
Institution:	University of Warwick
Status:	Not Peer Reviewed
Publication Status:	Published
Access rights to Published version:	Open Access

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