Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of tables and figure
- List of contributors
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Marriage: the long-term contract
- 3 Marital commitment and the legal regulation of divorce
- 4 Mutual consent divorce
- 5 An economic approach to adultery law
- 6 Louisiana's covenant marriage law: recapturing the meaning of marriage for the sake of the children
- 7 Cohabitation and marriage
- 8 Marriage as a signal
- 9 For better or for worse? Is bargaining in marriage and divorce efficient?
- 10 Weak men and disorderly women: divorce and the division of labor
- 11 The impact of legal reforms on marriage and divorce
- 12 European divorce laws, divorce rates, and their consequences
- Index
- References
5 - An economic approach to adultery law
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 August 2009
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of tables and figure
- List of contributors
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Marriage: the long-term contract
- 3 Marital commitment and the legal regulation of divorce
- 4 Mutual consent divorce
- 5 An economic approach to adultery law
- 6 Louisiana's covenant marriage law: recapturing the meaning of marriage for the sake of the children
- 7 Cohabitation and marriage
- 8 Marriage as a signal
- 9 For better or for worse? Is bargaining in marriage and divorce efficient?
- 10 Weak men and disorderly women: divorce and the division of labor
- 11 The impact of legal reforms on marriage and divorce
- 12 European divorce laws, divorce rates, and their consequences
- Index
- References
Summary
Wilt thou have this Woman to thy wedded wife, to live together after God's ordinance in the holy estate of Matrimony? Wilt thou love her, comfort her, honour, and keep her in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all other, keep thee only unto her, so long as ye both shall live?
(Book of Common Prayer, 1662)Introduction
When two people marry, they promise fidelity. Adultery occurs when one of them breaks this promise, and it is generally believed that breaking promises, and breaking this promise in particular, is wrong. “Every wrong has its remedy,” equity used to say. The subject of this paper is which of the myriad possible remedies are suitable for adultery. In modern US law, the formal remedy is that the wronged party can file for divorce and force a division of the assets. This really is not a remedy, however, since under modern no-fault divorce laws anyone can file for divorce anyway, no reason being required. To the extent that divorce deters adultery, it does so simply as an extension of adultery's tendency to displease the injured spouse. In the eyes of the law, adultery and complaining about the other spouse's adultery are equally good reasons for divorce.
In the past, other remedies existed, of which vestiges continue today. These include criminal penalties, tort actions, and self-help. This chapter discusses remedies using the tools of law and economics.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Law and Economics of Marriage and Divorce , pp. 70 - 91Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2002
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