pro_sprond
2yr ago
There are some claims that polygyny is more common in societies where women are responsible for a greater portion of food production (e.g. see here). Possibly this is because in such societies it is less expensive for men to take on multiple female partners. In some cases a man might even benefit economically from having multiple wives.
This theory is disputed, but it does fit remarkably well with current trends in developed countries. Over the past 50 years, female labor force participation in the US has increased a lot, especially when you focus on jobs with high salaries. In the 1950s, if a man wanted to maintain multiple simultaneous long term relationships with women (e.g. by marrying one and having several mistresses, etc) he would have to be able to support all of them. For all but the highest paid men, this would be impossible. Nowadays, the extra girlfriends all have jobs of their own and can take care of themselves.
Polygamy is most common in sub-Saharan Africa, which is not the stablest region in general. Still, according to this article, Nigeria, Senegal and Mali all have rates of polygamy above 20% (where "rate of polygamy" = "percent of people living in a polygamous household") and as far as I can tell all three of those countries are reasonably stable by African standards (if not by world standards).
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