Most studies show that gay men earn less and lesbians earn more than their heterosexual counterparts, but the size of estimated sexual orientation differences varies greatly across studies. Using studies published between 1995 and 2012, a meta‐regression shows that the gay sample size, sexual orientation measure, and controls for work intensity explain variation in estimates for men. For women, there are few conclusive influences although controlling for work intensity seems to be most important.

In the last 25 years, many cities and counties, as well as a few states, have adopted policies that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation in private or public employment. These policies may increase earnings for gays and lesbians by decreasing discrimination in hiring, firing, promotion, or pay. This study uses data from the 1990 U.S. census to estimate the effects of these policies on individual earnings and household income. The results suggest that the policies have been adopted in places with higher earnings and that same‐sex couples are more likely to live in areas that have adopted policies. However, after controlling for individual and location characteristics, the results show no evidence of a direct effect of antidiscrimination policies on average earnings or income for members of same‐sex couples. Antidiscrimination policies may be more important both for a small number of individuals and as symbols of full citizenship and legitimacy for gays and lesbians.

This study uses the 2000 U.S. Census data to assess the impact of antidiscrimination policies for sexual orientation on earnings for gays and lesbians. Using a multilevel model allows estimation of the effects of state and local policies on earnings and of variation in the effects of sexual orientation across local labor markets. The results suggest that gay men face an earnings penalty that varies significantly (though not sizably) across local areas, and that state antidiscrimination policies may decrease that penalty in private sector employment. There is, however, no evidence that lesbians in any sector average higher earnings or wages in areas with antidiscrimination policies. The strongest evidence of effects for antidiscrimination policies is for weeks of employment and for gay men who are in the private sector, white, and in the upper half of the earnings distribution. on discrimination in labor markets. However, this paper adds to a growing literature providing a more nuanced picture of how sexual orientation affects work in America.

No abstract

No abstract

Routine income withholding, mandated by the Family Support Act of 1988, is one of several child support reforms currently being implemented nationwide. In routine income withholding, child support payments are deducted from the paychecks of nonresident parents and transferred to resident parents by a state agency. Routine withholding has previously been shown to increase payments by 11 to 30 percent. Using data from a Wisconsin demonstration of routine withholding, we find small potential for increased child support collections in cases at risk for AFDC participation because of very low awards. An analysis of the effects of routine income withholding on AFDC participation rates and costs suggests that withholding had little to no effect upon AFDC participation rates or public AFDC expenditures. Nevertheless, withholding is an important component of child support reform, and in conjunction with other reforms may have a significant impact on private and public transfers.

The fringe banking industry, including payday lenders and check cashers, was nearly nonexistent three decades ago. Today it generates tens of billions of dollars in annual revenue. The industry's growth accelerated in the 1980s with financial deregulation and the working class's declining resources. With Current Population Survey data, we used propensity score matching to investigate the relationship between fringe loan use, unbanked status, and self-rated health, hypothesizing that the material and stress effects of exposure to these financial services would be harmful to health. We found that fringe loan use was associated with 38 percent higher prevalence of poor or fair health, while being unbanked (not having one's own bank account) was associated with 17 percent higher prevalence. Although a variety of policies could mitigate the health consequences of these exposures, expanding social welfare programs and labor protections would address the root causes of the use of fringe services and advance health equity.

Few economists work on issues of sexual orientation despite cultural and political changes which have spawned work in other social sciences and the humanities. Barriers to work in this area include discrimination against sexual minorities, the lack of interest and knowledge about sexual orientation, the absence of support for this research, and the scarcity of appropriate models and data. Institutional decision-makers could facilitate research on sexual orientation by creating nondiscriminatory workplaces, valuing and funding the research, and by creating courses in this area.Gay, Lesbian, Economic Research, Discrimination,