From Shame to Game in One Hundred Years: An Economic Model of the Rise in Premarital Sex and its De-Stigmatization

Jesus Fernandez-Villaverde, Jeremy Greenwood and Nezih Guner

No 4708, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Societies socialize children about many things, including sex. Socialization is costly. It uses scarce resources, such as time and effort. Parents weigh the marginal gains from socialization against its costs. Those at the lower end of the socioeconomic scale indoctrinate their daughters less than others about the perils of premarital sex, because the latter will lose less from an out-of-wedlock birth. Modern contraceptives have profoundly affected the calculus for instilling sexual mores, leading to a de-stigmatization of sex. As contraception has become more effective there is less need for parents, churches and states to inculcate sexual mores. Technology affects culture.

Keywords: stigmatization; socialization; children; church and state; contraception; culture; parents; premarital sex; out-of-wedlock births; technological progress (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D1 E1 J11 J12 J13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 50 pages
Date: 2010-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-evo
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (15)

Published - published in: Journal of European Economic Association, 2014, 12 (1), 25-61

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Related works:
Journal Article: FROM SHAME TO GAME IN ONE HUNDRED YEARS: AN ECONOMIC MODEL OF THE RISE IN PREMARITAL SEX AND ITS DE-STIGMATIZATION (2014)
Working Paper: From Shame to Game in One Hundred Years: An Economic Model of the Rise in Premarital Sex and its De-Stigmatization (2010)
Working Paper: From Shame to Game in One Hundred Years: An Economic Model of the Rise in Premarital Sex and its De-Stigmatization (2010)
Working Paper: From Shame to Game in One Hundred Years: An Economic Model of the Rise in Premarital Sex and its De-Stigmatization (2009)
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