Marriage has fallen upon hard times in the United States in the last 6 decades.

Demographically, in the wake of the divorce revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, and the ongoing decline in the marriage rate, this social institution has lost significant ground as the anchor of adulthood and foundation of family life (Cherlin, 2009; Wilcox, 2024). Culturally, support for the values and virtues that sustain marriage have dropped in recent years, as fewer Americans report they think marriage is important for men, women, and children or embrace virtues like fidelity and monogamy that sustain strong and stable marriages (Jones, 2020; Wilcox, 2024).

And yet. At the same time that marriage has lost demographic and cultural ground, the empirical evidence that marriage matters for the welfare of children, men, and women continues to mount (Kearney, 2023; McLanahan & Sawhill, 2015; Ribar, 2015; Wasserman, 2020; Wilcox, 2024). Children raised in stably married homes are markedly more likely to avoid poverty, flourish in school, and avoid incarceration (Kearney, 2023; Ribar, 2015; Wasserman, 2020). Men and women who are married are markedly more financially secure, less lonely, and report greater happiness than their peers who are not married (Wilcox, 2024). Even more surprisingly, there is growing evidence that the marriage premium in child and adult well-being is not only robust but growing for some outcomes (Iceland, 2021; Nock, 2009; Wilcox et al., 2023).

What we have, then, is a “marriage paradox” where culturally and demographically the institution of marriage is garnering less support even as its objective value remains high and may even be growing. This article will detail the paradox and suggest policy remedies to it. Because “marriage represents the keystone institution” not only for many men, women, and children but also for our civilization, to paraphrase the evolutionary anthropologist Joseph Henrich (2020), federal, state, and local policymakers should seek ways to advance the fortunes of marriage in America. Policymakers should specifically aim for cultural measures that increase the appeal of marriage to young adults and for economic measures that make marriage and family formation more accessible to ordinary men and women.

过去六年来，美国的婚姻陷入困境。

从人口统计角度来看，随着 20 世纪 60 年代和 1970 年代的离婚革命以及结婚率的持续下降，这种社会制度作为成年期的支柱和家庭生活的基础已经失去了重要地​​位（Cherlin， 2009 ；Wilcox， 2024 ） 。从文化上看，近年来，对维持婚姻的价值观和美德的支持有所下降，因为越来越少的美国人表示，他们认为婚姻对男人、女人和孩子都很重要，或者拥护忠诚和一夫一妻制等维持牢固和稳定婚姻的美德（Jones， 2020）威尔科克斯， 2024 ）。

然而。在婚姻失去人口和文化基础的同时，越来越多的经验证据表明婚姻对儿童、男性和女性的福祉至关重要（Kearney， 2023 ；McLanahan & Sawhill， 2015 ；Ribar， 2015 ；Wasserman， 2020 ）威尔科克斯， 2024 ）。在稳定的婚姻家庭中长大的孩子明显更有可能避免贫困、在学校表现出色并避免入狱（Kearney， 2023 ；Ribar， 2015 ；Wasserman， 2020 ）。与未婚同龄人相比，已婚男性和女性在经济上明显更安全，更少孤独，并且幸福感更高（Wilcox， 2024 ）。更令人惊讶的是，越来越多的证据表明，儿童和成人福祉的婚姻溢价不仅强劲，而且在某些结果上还在增长（冰岛， 2021 ；Nock， 2009 ；Wilcox 等， 2023 ）。

那么，我们所面临的是一个“婚姻悖论”，即从文化和人口角度来看，婚姻制度获得的支持越来越少，尽管其客观价值仍然很高，甚至可能正在增长。本文将详细介绍这一悖论，并提出解决该悖论的政策建议。因为“婚姻代表着基石制度”，不仅对许多男人、女人和儿童来说，而且对我们的文明来说，用进化人类学家约瑟夫·亨里奇（Joseph Henrich， 2020 ）的话来说，联邦、州和地方政策制定者应该寻求方法来促进人们的命运。在美国结婚。政策制定者应特别注重文化措施，以增加婚姻对年轻人的吸引力，并采取经济措施，使普通男女更容易结婚和组建家庭。