Homosexuality and participation in the labour force : evidence from Chile and Uruguay

Abstract

In this paper we examine the e ect of sexual orientation on labour supply in two countries in Latin America. Using census data, a sample of partnered individuals and a logit model we found that this e ect is signi cant and depends on the individual's gender. While gay men are up to 8.1% less likely to participate in the workforce compared to married straight men, lesbians have a higher probability to participate in the labour force compared to their unmarried and married straight counterparts, varying from 17.3% up to 29.9% respectively. Trends between Chile and Uruguay are similar but the magnitude of the e ect on participation di ers signi cantly between countries.