Sexual orientation, competitiveness and income

Open Access
Authors
Publication date 07-2018
Journal Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization
Volume | Issue number 151
Pages (from-to) 191-198
Organisations
  • Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) - Amsterdam School of Economics Research Institute (ASE-RI)
  • Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB)
Abstract
Do gays earn less than other men because they are less competitive? Do lesbians earn more than other women because they are more competitive? To answer these questions, we conduct an experiment on a Dutch online survey panel to measure the competitive preferences of gay, lesbian and straight panel members. We find that gay men compete less than straight men, while lesbians compete as much as straight women. Linking our experimental measure of competitiveness to earnings and education data, we find that competitiveness predicts earnings and education levels and that differences in competitive preferences can partially explain the gay earnings penalty but not the lesbian premium.
Document type Article
Note With supplementary materials
Language English
Published at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2018.03.017
Downloads
1-s2.0-S0167268118300908-main (Final published version)
Supplementary materials
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