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Why should a woman take her husband's last name?
So asks Eugene Volokh. His commentators adduce a number of reasons involving children, or a desire to change an ugly last name.
The cynical economist looks for signaling explanations for why the practice persists. By taking a man's last name -- a costly move -- a woman signals her long-term commitment to the relationship. The real question is why the man does not take the last name of the woman. Yes this is disruptive of the man's career but that is precisely the point. And don't more men wreck marriages than do women, thereby implying they require more constraint?
Some men do take their wives' last names, and more choose a hyphenated version of the two names. But do they not signal weakness in a bargaining game? (Do you see any professional wrestlers named Smythe-Thomson?) Could signaling strength in bargaining games be worth more to men than to women?
Posted by Tyler Cowen on May 18, 2005 at 08:32 AM in Economics | Permalink
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» Couverture by any other name from Political Arguments
Tyler Cowen chimes in on the dispute over women taking their husband's name upon mariage. Eugene Volokh, you may recall, got the whole thing started, and I've blogged about it below and before.
If a married woman changes her name because she feel ... [Read More]
Tracked on May 18, 2005 11:24:58 AM
» Women and Last Names: from The Volokh Conspiracy
[I had posted this earlier, but there was a glitch that kept the comments from working; reposting it now.]
I've found that lots of women of my circle — generally professionals who, I think, would describe themselves... [Read More]
Tracked on May 18, 2005 1:15:19 PM
» Signaling Paternity Using Last Names from EconoMom
In response to Eugene Volokh's question about why women change their last names upon marrying, Tyler Cowen of Marginal Revolution suggests a signaling explanation:The cynical economist looks for signaling explanations for why the practice persists. [Read More]
Tracked on May 18, 2005 2:58:03 PM






