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The disappearing gay income penalty

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  • Clarke, Geoffrey
  • Sevak, Purvi

Abstract

Since 1995, labor economists have reported on the income disparities between individuals who engage in same-sex behavior and those that do not. Many of these papers report a significant wage penalty, while others find no effect, but few look at the trend over time. We find, using National Health and Examination Survey (NHANES) data from 1988 to 2007, that the income gap has reversed over time from a penalty to a premium.

Suggested Citation

  • Clarke, Geoffrey & Sevak, Purvi, 2013. "The disappearing gay income penalty," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 121(3), pages 542-545.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:121:y:2013:i:3:p:542-545
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2013.10.018
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Carpenter, Christopher S., 2007. "Revisiting the income penalty for behaviorally gay men: Evidence from NHANES III," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 25-34, January.
    2. Madeline Zavodny, 2008. "Is there a ‘marriage premium’ for gay men?," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 6(4), pages 369-389, December.
    3. Marieka Klawitter, 2011. "Multilevel analysis of the effects of antidiscrimination policies on earnings by sexual orientation," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(2), pages 334-358, March.
    4. M. V. Lee Badgett, 1995. "The Wage Effects of Sexual Orientation Discrimination," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 48(4), pages 726-739, July.
    5. Michael E Martell, 2013. "Differences Do Not Matter: Exploring the Wage Gap for Same-Sex Behaving Men," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 39(1), pages 45-71.
    6. Suzanne Heller Clain & Karen Leppel, 2001. "An investigation into sexual orientation discrimination as an explanation for wage differences," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(1), pages 37-47.
    7. Brendan Cushing‐Daniels & Tsz‐Ying Yeung, 2009. "Wage Penalties And Sexual Orientation: An Update Using The General Social Survey," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 27(2), pages 164-175, April.
    8. Nathan Berg & Donald Lien, 2002. "Measuring The Effect Of Sexual Orientation On Income: Evidence Of Discrimination?," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 20(4), pages 394-414, October.
    9. Michael Martell, 2013. "Do ENDAs End Discrimination for Behaviorally Gay Men?," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 34(2), pages 147-169, June.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Christopher S. Carpenter & Samuel T. Eppink, 2017. "Does It Get Better? Recent Estimates of Sexual Orientation and Earnings in the United States," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 84(2), pages 426-441, October.
    2. Michael E. Martell & Peyton Nash, 2020. "For Love and Money? Earnings and Marriage Among Same-Sex Couples," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 41(3), pages 260-294, September.
    3. Amy Spring & Kayla Charleston, 2021. "Gentrification and the Shifting Geography of Male Same-Sex Couples," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 40(6), pages 1163-1194, December.
    4. Andrea La Nauze, 2015. "Sexual orientation–based wage gaps in Australia: The potential role of discrimination and personality," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 26(1), pages 60-81, March.
    5. Alex Bryson, 2017. "Pay equity after the Equality Act 2010: does sexual orientation still matter?," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 31(3), pages 483-500, June.
    6. Sansone, Dario, 2019. "Pink work: Same-sex marriage, employment and discrimination," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    7. Lennon, Conor, 2022. "Employer-sponsored health insurance and labor market outcomes for men in same-sex couples: Evidence from the advent of pre-exposure prophylaxis," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 47(C).
    8. Mary Eschelbach Hansen & Michael E. Martell, 2014. "Self-Identified Sexual Orientation and the Lesbian Earnings Differential," Working Papers 2014-13, American University, Department of Economics.
    9. Carpenter, Christopher S. & Sansone, Dario, 2021. "Cigarette taxes and smoking among sexual minority adults," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    10. Jepsen, Christopher & Jepsen, Lisa, 2022. "Convergence over time or not? U.S. wages by sexual orientation, 2000–2019," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    11. John Levendis & Aaron Lowen, 2023. "What Same-Sex Adoption Laws Can Tell Us About the Gender Wage Gap in the United States," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 44(2), pages 473-489, June.
    12. Maryam Dilmaghani, 2018. "Sexual Orientation, Labour Earnings, and Household Income in Canada," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 39(1), pages 41-55, March.
    13. Alyssa Schneebaum & Nina Schubert, 2017. "Marriage (In)equality: Does the Sexual Orientation Wage Gap Persist Across Marital Status?," Department of Economics Working Papers wuwp254, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Department of Economics.
    14. Maryam Dilmaghani, 2019. "Sexual orientation and the ‘cohabitation gap’ in life satisfaction in Canada," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 1163-1189, December.
    15. Jepsen, Christopher & Jepsen, Lisa, 2020. "Convergence Over Time or Not? U.S. Wages by Sexual Orientation, 2001-2018," IZA Discussion Papers 13495, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Sexual orientation; Income; Diminishing gap;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J2 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor
    • J3 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs
    • J7 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination

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