Spousonomics: How Economics Can Save a Marriage

March 9, 2011— -- How should a couple split up the chores? How can they keep from fighting? How can they have more sex?

Answer those questions and you might have the key to a perfect marriage.

The authors of a new book called "Spousonomics" say the best tips for keeping a marriage strong come not from Oprah or Dr. Ruth but from close economic analysis.

"Economics is the study of scarce resources. What is more scarce in your marriage than time, energy, love, libido?" said Jenny Anderson, who co-authored "Spousonomics" with Paula Szuchman.

Common wisdom suggests that happy couples share responsibilities like laundry, dishes and cleaning. According to a survey by the Pew Research Center, the most important things in a successful marriage are faithfulness, sex, and sharing household chores.

Watch "World News with Diane Sawyer" for more on this story tonight on ABC.

But does that mean that every chore should be divided exactly half-and-half? That might sound fair, but economics says it's folly.

"If you're doing half and I'm doing half of each task, then the time we're spending on everything is actually greater than if we specialize," said Szuchman.

Take, for instance, a hypothetical couple, Jack and Jane. It takes Jack 30 minutes to do the laundry and 20 minutes to walk the dog. Jane can do the laundry in 45 minutes and walk the dog in 25.

If they each do the tasks half the time, it would take them a total of 420 minutes per week.

Even though Jack is better at both tasks, it's in the couple's interest to split responsibilities according to ability and take advantage of what economists call comparative advantage. Jack should just do laundry because he's comparatively better at it, and Jane should just walk the dog because she's comparatively better at it. By specializing, they could save 36 minutes a week.

"Everybody has to do something," said Szuchman. "This is a system for dividing it up in a way that's more efficient."

Specialization gives the couple more time for TV, relaxation, or sex.