Nonparticipation and corner solution: extramarital affairs reconsidered

Abstract

A nonparticipation-censored model is estimated to re-examine the determinants of extramarital affairs considered by Fair (Journal of Political Economy, 86, 1978) and Wang (Applied Economics Letters, 4, 1997). Derived from a mixed utility maximization framework, the proposed model features a probit mechanism to accommodate nonparticipation and a Tobit mechanism for additional censoring among potential adulterers. The model allows interaction between the two latent equations, includes the Tobit and Tobit with natural nonresponse (Wang, Applied Economics Letters, 4, 1997) as special cases, and offers a more interesting behavioural explanation. Results from the same sample suggest the proposed model outperforms the two restricted specifications and produces different effects of explanatory variables from those reported in the earlier studies.