Marriage – what’s in it for a man, what for a woman? The latest American time use survey suggests that men benefit more than women. Traditional arrangements live on merrily, even in double-earner couples. Women just work harder (all types of work added up) and have less leisure than their men, whether they are housewives or breadwinners. The situation is even more pronounced in developing countries.

In this context it does not surprise that women in some parts of the world have gone on marriage strike, according to a recent article in the Economist. As the fertility rate falls with marriage incidence, some countries risk going off the map. Extrapolating simply, Hong Kong’s population would disappear in 25 generations. Portugal, Austria and Singapore do not have much longer.

Time to give the ladies some leisure, lads.