Living Together Or Getting Married?

Marriage,as the key core of family formation and maintenance,has always been related not only to the personal interests of family members,to some extent but also to social stability and harmony.However,in recent years,with the rapid development of economy and society,the number of cohabitation relations in western society has increased dramatically.In some countries,the number of cohabiting families exceeds that of marriage and has become the mainstream of society.Similarly,in our country,the marriage rate has been declining and the proportion of non-marital cohabitation has been rising.Many experts and scholars have questioned why more and more people choose cohabitation instead of marriage.Will cohabitation replace marriage and become the mainstream of gender relations in China in the future? Under the background of modern Chinese society,the author makes a comparative study of marriage and cohabitation,which helps to fill the gap in the comparative study of gender relations,and provides reference for the legislature to construct cohabitation legislation.This paper takes Gary Becker's theory of marriage cost as the main research theory.Marriage cost is mainly divided into two parts: one is transaction cost,which mainly includes the cost of dating,wedding and so on;the other is opportunity cost,which refers to the loss of other benefits that have to be abandoned because of the choice of marriage.Marriage benefits generally refer to all the benefits that men and women get through marriage,including the improvement of quality of life,the birth and upbringing of children,etc.Becker believes that in a rational state,people will compare the cost and benefit of marriage through analysis and calculation,and then make the behavior and decision to maximize the benefit..Therefore,the author uses the survey data of professional institutions and authoritative scholars such as the China Social Sciences Investigation Center of Peking University,the Institute of Sexual Sociology of Renmin University of China and the Social Sciences Data Research Center of Fudan University to analyze and explain the reasons why more and more people prefer cohabitation and the influence of relationship between the two partners by comparing transaction cost,opportunity cost and benefit of marital and cohabitation relationships.In addition,the author also uses the interview method and "snowball" sampling method to conduct in-depth interviews with eight cohabitants to understand their motivation to choose cohabitation,their feelings in all aspects of cohabitation life,and their comparative experience of cohabitation after entering marriage,and carries out analysis combined with the interview results.This paper is divided into six chapters.Chapter 1 "Literature Review" mainly include the research status of Becker's marriage cost theory,cohabitation.Chapter 2,"Theoretical Basis and Research Method",mainly expounds the concept of marriage and cohabitation in this study,the cost-benefit theory of Becker's marriage,and the research methods including literature research methods and interview methods.Chapter3,"The Current Situation and Development Trend of Cohabitation in China",based on the survey data of authoritative experts,scholars and research centers of universities and other relevant institutions,analyses the current situation and development trend of Chinese and foreign cohabitation.Chapter4 "Explanation of People's Choice of Cohabitation rather than Marriage" and Chapter 5 "Comparative Study of the Impact of Cohabitation and Marriage on Partnership",using Becker's Marriage Cost Theory,this paper analyses the calculation,measurement and comparison of people's rational state,based on high marriage cost and low cohabitation benefit,in order to achieve maximum benefit,people choose cohabitation instead of marriage,and cohabitation and marriage to partners.There are differences in stability,emotional relationship,sexual relationship,parent-child relationship and social impact.Chapter 6 "Summary and discussion",around the above discussion,puts forward the views: cohabitation can not replace marriage in the short time,and become the mainstream of gender relations in Chinese society;cohabitation is regarded as an improvement of the current marriage system;regulate cohabitation through legislation,not only conforms to China's national conditions,but also conforms to the trend of world legislation.The innovations of this paper:Firstly,using Becker's theory of marriage cost to conduct cross-subject research on gender behavior;applying Becker's theory of marriage cost not only to marriage research,but also to expand the scope of application for other gender relations,including cohabitation;Secondly,by interviewing 8 cohabitants face-to-face,in-depth interviews were conducted to analyze their motives,feelings and experiences of cohabitation;Thirdly,using comparative research methods,from the perspective of reasons and the impact on partnership,this paper makes a comparative study on cohabitation and marriage.The disadvantage is that there is no more first-hand data for research.