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Sexual Orientation and Household Decision Making. Same-Sex Couples’ Balance of Power and Labor Supply Choices

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  • Sonia Oreffice

    (University of Alicante)

Abstract

I estimate how intra-household bargaining affects gay and lesbian couples’ labor supplies, investigating their similarity to heterosexual decision-making, in a collective household framework. Data from the 2000 US Census show that couples of all types exhibit a significant response to bargaining power shifts, as measured by differences between partners in age or non-labor income. In gay, lesbian, and heterosexual cohabiting couples, a relatively young or rich partner has more bargaining power and hence supplies less labor, the opposite holding for his/her mate. Married couples value the older spouse instead, or the richer. No effects are found for same-sex roommates.

Suggested Citation

  • Sonia Oreffice, 2008. "Sexual Orientation and Household Decision Making. Same-Sex Couples’ Balance of Power and Labor Supply Choices," Working Papers 2008.81, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    • Handle: RePEc:fem:femwpa:2008.81
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Household Decision Making; Same-Sex Couples; Labor Supply;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D1 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

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