Research into human well-being stresses the importance of our institutional environment. In Wedlock and Well-being, Barry Maley looks at the role of the institution of marriage in the well-being of the partners and their children. On a wide variety of indicators, married people enjoy higher levels of well-being than the unmarried, as do children living with married parents.

In a liberal society, no law should force an unwanted association between two adults. But considering the importance of marriage to the well-being of adults and their children, and a clear preference of such a large proportion of the population to be married, the law should do what it can to facilitate this state. Wedlock and Well-being argues that the law of marriage no longer achieves this objective. By removing ideas of right and wrong from marital conduct, it changes the character of marriage in the public mind and weakens the incentives to behave in ways conducive to continuing marriage.