* Bruce Elmslie: University of New Hampshire, Department of Economics, 15 College Road, McConnell Hall, Durham NH, 03824 Phone: 603-862-3347; Fax: 603-862-3383 e-mail: bte@cisunix.unh.edu. Edinaldo Tebaldi, Bryant University, Department of Economics, 1150, Douglas Pike, Smithfield, RI 02917. Phone: 401-232-6901; Fax: 401-232-6068, e-mail: etebaldi@bryant.edu. The authors have benefited from discussion with Karen Conway, Lewis Davis, Ray Fair, Tim Page and the participants at the Economics Seminar at the University of New Hampshire, Union College and the 2006 Southern Economics Association meetings.
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So, What Did You Do Last Night? The Economics of Infidelity
Article first published online: 17 JUL 2008
DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-6435.2008.00408.x
© 2008 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2008 Blackwell Publishing Ltd
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How to Cite
Elmslie, B. and Tebaldi, E. (2008), So, What Did You Do Last Night? The Economics of Infidelity. Kyklos, 61: 391–410. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-6435.2008.00408.x
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* Bruce Elmslie: University of New Hampshire, Department of Economics, 15 College Road, McConnell Hall, Durham NH, 03824 Phone: 603-862-3347; Fax: 603-862-3383 e-mail: bte@cisunix.unh.edu. Edinaldo Tebaldi, Bryant University, Department of Economics, 1150, Douglas Pike, Smithfield, RI 02917. Phone: 401-232-6901; Fax: 401-232-6068, e-mail: etebaldi@bryant.edu. The authors have benefited from discussion with Karen Conway, Lewis Davis, Ray Fair, Tim Page and the participants at the Economics Seminar at the University of New Hampshire, Union College and the 2006 Southern Economics Association meetings.
Publication History
- Issue published online: 17 JUL 2008
- Article first published online: 17 JUL 2008
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SUMMARY
This paper develops an economic analysis of infidelity concentrating on the question of how cheating behavior differs between men and women. We develop an expected utility model that borrows from evolutionary biology to form expectations regarding behavior towards infidelity. We use U.S. data from the General Social Survey (GSS) and a Probit model to assess some characteristics of the respondent and his or her spouse that determine the probability of having an extramarital affair. While biology may form basic preferences, some of our results are consistent with the view that people are able to act on more than their base biological instincts alone. Hence, economic theory has a role to play in the understanding of behavior relating to infidelity. More specifically, this study identifies age, social class, individual's own education and the spouse's educational attainment as underlying factors affecting infidelity behavior depending on gender. In general, we find that men and women respond differently to the costs and benefits of having an affair.