Economic Wisdom to Apply in Your Twenties

Chapter 77

Chapter 9 Section 8 The high cost of divorce makes people "lazy to divorce"

People who are familiar with the NBA may also know a lot about the lace gossip of NBA stars.Then you should still remember the marriage change between "Shark" O'Neill and his wife Shanni:

O'Neal married his wife, Shani, in 2002 and they have four children.However, their marriage broke down in September 5 after five years of maintenance. Because Shani had an affair with O'Neill's trainer and financial adviser, the furious Shark filed for divorce.
But O'Neill and his wife's divorce soap opera finally ended in a dramatic end after a year of turmoil.According to media analysis, the main reason why O'Neill and his wife got back together was the high cost of divorce.According to media reports, once the two parties break up, O'Neal will suffer a huge economic loss of at least 9000 million US dollars.With such a high price, O'Neill had to think twice, and finally decided to reunite with his wife.

Today, divorce has become the most exciting "fast food" for modern people. The intervention of a third party, personality differences, family trivial matters, etc., all kinds of big and small things have become the trigger for divorce.However, divorce is not really as simple as everyday food. O'Neill is not alone in calculating the cost of divorce before divorce.In an increasingly utilitarian reality, the high cost of divorce even makes many people say they are "too lazy to divorce".

Generally speaking, when the husband and wife go to the court to request a divorce, they often ask a lawyer to calculate the division of their property, child support, etc.However, if you ask an economist to calculate the cost of divorce, it may be much higher than the calculation result of a lawyer:

1.家庭财产的分割。这是在法定程序中可以计算出来的损失。假设一个家庭有20万存款、价值80万的房子和价值20万的车子，那么，离异后的一方将至少失去10万存款、半套房子或半个车子。

2. Separation of children.Children are the most important product of the family.Maybe they're consumer durables (they always cost the parents money, but the parents get psychological income or utility), maybe they're durables (since they also keep bringing income to the parents, or even just joy for the parents) .But divorce will cause the separation of flesh and blood, forming a negative effect.
3. Losing mutual friends.The social circle centered on marriage was broken.There will be no more shared entertainment.At the same time, the decline of "social prestige" may affect the mental health of divorced people.
4. Loss of special assets.An individual's asset specificity in the household includes traits and habits that are familiar and dependent on each other, such as a wife's favorite dish over the years.Divorce can take the meaning out of something special.
5. The cost of remarriage.If you do not make the decision to be celibate after divorce, you will face the cost of remarrying, including: the cost of finding and pursuing a new spouse, starting a new family, family running-in, and the impact of health, income, and temperament changes on the new married life.

6/ The special cost of women: Experts believe that women make more contributions in family life. They undertake most of the housework and give up opportunities for further education and promotion to their husbands. Coupled with historical reasons, many girls Sexual viability is lower than that of men, and the standard of living after divorce is greatly reduced.At the same time, the remarriage of women may be lower than that of men, which increases the cost of divorce for women.

In addition, the time cost and mental stress cost in the divorce process are all part of the divorce cost that has to be included.According to the analysis of economists, generally speaking, the stronger the family's economic strength, the greater the cost of divorce.

In fact, the economic analysis of the cost of divorce reflects that contemporary people have become more and more rational about divorce.Although "growing old together" is the best pursuit of all those who enter the palace of marriage, when the marriage has to break down, we might as well end it in a more rational way.Economists have concluded that the formula for making a divorce decision should be:
Divorce decision value = effectiveness of getting rid of the current marriage (happiness, relief, etc.) - cost of divorce - cost of remarriage
If the divorce decision value > 0, then well, let’s leave; if the divorce decision value is ≤ 0, then maybe you need to think carefully like O’Neill.

Wisdom Pieces: Weird Divorce Rules Abroad
Italy: If the wife does not do housework or does not like to do housework, the husband can file for divorce.

Japan: If the husband thinks that his wife's sleeping position is not good-looking, he can file for divorce.

United Kingdom: Only one of the husband and wife can file for divorce. If both parties file for divorce, divorce is not allowed.

Togo: When the relationship between a man and a woman broke down, they applied to the local department, and each asked the administrator to shave half of their hair and exchange the shaved hair with each other.

Ecuador: If a couple turns against each other and divorces, they must go on a hunger strike for three days.On the fourth morning, I went to a local elder to accept a "test" to see if it was really weak, and if it was true, the breakup was real; if it was false, the elder would issue an order: never divorce.

Lebanon: In traditional households, a woman asks her husband's permission before going out.If one day a husband does not want a wife, when his wife asks his opinion before going out, he only needs to say: "Go, don't go home!" and declare a divorce.

(End of this chapter)