Should public policy promote marriage to improve well‐being?
本文围绕婚姻是否应受政策促进展开辩论，一方认为婚姻是社会不平等的产物和驱动者，应提供经济支持而非仅促进婚姻；另一方认为婚姻能改善成人和儿童福祉，建议消除婚姻带来的税收和福利惩罚。
While some may see marriage as a personal decision far from the realm of public policy, marital status has a profound effect on everything from tax rates to Social Security benefits to program eligibility. And for decades (if in some periods with more enthusiasm than others), government has engaged in efforts explicitly designed to promote marriage. Debates surrounding both implicit and explicit marriage promotion focus on at least two key questions: Does such policy have an impact? And, especially, does marriage improve well-being—or are the positive outcomes often associated with marriage due to selection (e.g., success leads to marriage) rather than causation (e.g., marriage leads to success)? This issue of Point/Counterpoint features two different perspectives on the evidence and the appropriate policy responses. Paula Fomby focuses in particular on who appears to benefit from marriage and why. She emphasizes the role of marriage as “both a product and a driver of social inequality,” and her policy recommendations focus largely on providing economic and social support designed to improve well-being regardless of marital status. In contrast, W. Bradford Wilcox and Alan Hawkins argue that marriage improves the financial status and well-being of adults, and the well-being of children—not only due to greater financial and care resources, but also due to greater family stability. And, while they note the role of selection, they argue that the best evidence suggests a causal influence. Given that, they argue for policy changes to eliminate benefit reductions and tax increases associated with marriage, as well as educational efforts to promote marriage, sequence it prior to childbearing, and improve relationships.