Marriage and the value of waiting

Abstract.

Using a simple model where singles try to maximize their “pizazz”, we examine the value of the option to give up single life in favor of marriage when singles’ pizazz levels follow correlated geometric Brownian motions. We derive the critical level of relative pizazz levels that triggers the move to marriage and find that for relatively small (large) potential economies of scale in marriage, a single will generally be willing to get married if his/her prospective partner’s pizazz is strictly higher (lower) than his/her own.