Download or read book The Mystery of Monogamy written by Eric D. Gould and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We examine why developed countries are monogamous while rich men throughout history have typically practiced polygyny. Wealth inequality naturally produces multiple wives for rich men in a standard model of the marriage market. However, we demonstrate that higher female inequality in the marriage market reduces polygyny. Moreover, we show that female inequality increases in the process of development as women are valued more for the quality of their children versus their quantity. Consequently, male inequality generates inequality in the number of wives per man in traditional societies, but manifests itself as inequality in the quality of wives in developed societies.