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  4. Spring 2021
  5. LGBTQ Economics

LGBTQ Economics

  • M. V. Lee Badgett
  • Christopher S. Carpenter
  • Dario Sansone
Journal of Economic Perspectives
vol. 35, no. 2, Spring 2021
(pp. 141-70)
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Abstract

Public attitudes and policies toward LGBTQ individuals have improved substantially in recent decades. Economists are actively shaping the discourse around these policies and contributing to our understanding of the economic lives of LGBTQ individuals. In this paper, we present the most up-to-date estimates of the size, location, demographic characteristics, and family structures of LGBTQ individuals in the United States. We describe an emerging literature on the effects of legal access to same-sex marriage on family and socioeconomic outcomes. We also summarize what is known about the size, direction, and sources of wage differentials related to variation in sexual orientation and gender identity. We conclude by describing a range of open questions in LGBTQ economics.

Citation

Badgett, M. V. Lee, Christopher S. Carpenter, and Dario Sansone. 2021. "LGBTQ Economics." Journal of Economic Perspectives, 35 (2): 141-70. DOI: 10.1257/jep.35.2.141

Additional Materials

JEL Classification

  • J11 Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts
  • J12 Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure; Domestic Abuse
  • J16 Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
  • K38 Human Rights Law; Gender Law
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