The Economic Case for LGBT Equality : Why Fair and Equal Treatment Benefits Us All

The Economic Case for LGBT Equality : Why Fair and Equal Treatment Benefits Us All
ISBN: 9780807035603
Publication Date: 19 May 2020

A fresh take on how the exclusion of LGBT people from full and equal participation in basic economic, education, health, social, and political settings is costly to us all. We know that homophobia adversely affects individuals in various ways, but economist M.V. Lee Badgett argues that in addition to moral and human rights reasons, we can now also make a financial argument for equality. Badgett proves that by moving towards LGBT equality we'll see organizations increase their bottom line and flourish countries's economies. Finding that homophobia and transphobia cost 1% or more of a country's GDP, Badgett expertly uses recent research and statics to analyze how these hostile practices and environments affect both the US and global economies.

LGBT rights remains a persistent and pertinent issue. The continued passing of discriminatory laws, people being fired from jobs for their sexual orientation and/or gender identity, harassment and bullying in school, violence and hate crimes on the streets, exclusion from intolerant families, and loss of health care all make it incredibly difficult to live a good life. Examining the consequences of anti-LGBT practices across multiple countries, including Canada, the UK, Australia, India and the Philippines, Badgett reveals the expensive repercussions to hate and discrimination, and how our economy loses when we miss out on the full benefit of inclusion.

About the Author

M. V. Lee Badgett is a professor of economics and the former director of the School of Public Policy at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst with over 25 years of experience studying the economics of being LGBT. Badgett is the co-founder and was the first research director at the Williams Institute for Sexual Orientation and...