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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

    (Universidad de 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 shows 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, 2009. "Sexual orientation and household decision making. Same-sex couples' balance of power and labor supply choices," Working Papers. Serie AD 2009-08, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Económicas, S.A. (Ivie).
    • Handle: RePEc:ivi:wpasad:2009-08
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Same-sex couples; Household bargaining power; 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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