ABSTRACT
This chapter could more accurately be called a theory of "polygyny," which is Greek for "marriage to many wives." It presents an analysis of polygamy which is "economic" in that it considers marriage as a situation of constrained choice. In contrast, most anthropological studies of polygyny have used "economic" in a more restricted sense. Murdock (1949), who stresses the "basic importance of economic factors" in explaining the incidence of polygyny in a society, includes in his concept of "economic" labor in agriculture, trades, and crafts, preparation of food, and political and religious functions. While Murdock excludes certain domestic activities, Boserup (1974) leaves them all out. It is the same restricted concept of "economic" that Goody (1974) has in mind when he criticizes Boserup, maintaining that the "reasons behind polygyny are sexual and reproductive rather than economic and productive." "Economic" as I have defined it invalidates Goody's dichotomy: the economic analysis of polygyny treats both its productive and its reproductive aspects.
