Pink Papers on Labor, Mobility, and Mental Health sponsored by CSQIEP
Paper Session
Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023 10:15 AM - 12:15 PM (CST)
- Chair: Michael Martell, Bard College
The Intergenerational Mobility of LGBTQ+ Individuals
Abstract
1. We study the intergenerational mobility rates of LGBTQ+ individuals in their prime-age utilizing data from various nationally representative surveys, including the NLSY Child and Young Adult, NLSY97, the PSID, and AddHealth. We report the existence of a LGBTQ+ mobility gap in the US, shaped primarily by the outcomes of LGBTQ+ individuals born to lower-income parents. While a mobility gap exists for most LGBTQ+ individuals, those born to parents in the top of the income distribution are mostly shielded from this disadvantage.While part of this gap can be explained by discrimination and household specialization, we go beyond these commonly studied factors and ask how norms and attitudes during childhood impact the later-life economic opportunities of LGBTQ+ individuals. Using data from multiple sources, we construct an index that captures changing LGBTQ+ attitudes at small regional levels since the 1990s. As general norms and attitudes change over time and families move across areas, we exploit the longitudinal and sibling-linkage aspects of our data to causally study how exposure to these factors during childhood impact the later-life outcomes of these individuals.
We then interact these statistics with the Opportunity Atlas data to create an “opportunity atlas” for LGBTQ+ individuals.
Layoff Shocks and Job Mobility: A Study on Labor and Networks
Abstract
Having a larger network expands an individual worker’s information set about outside options, leading to both bargaining power and subsequent job mobility. However, prior literature does not account for why worker separations may be endogenous; more skilled workers may be more mobile. To address this, I use mass layoffs, which affect large portions of entire establishments, as an exogenous shock. My project combines layoffs data from the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act with the universe of LinkedIn profiles to test the impact of network size and quality on future employment and earnings. In doing so, I seek to answer the following question: Do larger or higher-quality networks cushion against negative employment shocks? I focus first on the biotechnology sector, which has frequent mass layoffs due to clinical trial failure on the margin.I measure unemployment as the length of time an individual is not at any position. Then, I regress unemployment on employment network variables (the sizes of firms worked at in the past 3 years, the relative degree of locality of an individual’s network, the number of connections an individual has), education network variables (college’s alumni network ranking), firm fixed effects, major fixed effects, and individual demographics. However, individual skill could be endogenous with network quality or size, particularly if we believe high-skilled individuals are more talented at creating networks. To account for this, I also test an instrument variable. A classic instrument from the econometrics of networks is individuals’ indirect links: for example, if individual i knows individual j and individual k, individual j and k’s networks would be instruments for each other. Differences across the two sets of regressions also allow me to measure the degree of endogeneity.
Anti-Discrimination Laws and Mental Health: Evidence from Sexual Minorities
Abstract
Economic research has documented significant labor market disparities between heterosexuals and sexual minorities motivating the need for employment and labor market protection, such as Anti-Discrimination Laws, also known as Employment Non-Discrimination Acts (or ENDA’s). While a growing body of research documents the direct effects of ENDA’s on labor market outcomes, no research to date has explored the indirect effects of these laws. I present the first evidence of the effect of sexual orientation based ENDA’s on the mental health of sexual minorities. Exploiting the roll out of ENDA’s at the state level within a difference-in-difference model I document that ENDA’s reduce the number of poor mental health days by around 11% for male sexual minorities, while smaller effects are documented for female sexual minorities. In addition, I use several data sources to explore plausible mechanisms. First, I demonstrate that in line with prior literature the effects of ENDA’s on labor market outcomes are small. The effects on labor market outcomes are too small to plausibly lead to the large changes in mental health documented. Additionally, I demonstrate that the effect of ENDA’s on health insurance is negligible. Finally, I use hate crime, google trend, and firm level data to demonstrate that ENDA’s led to a significant reduction in prejudicial attitudes and behaviors and improvements in firm level LGBT+ equality initiatives. I demonstrate that these changes in discrimination are gendered: with reductions in prejudice being principally driven by reductions in prejudice towards gay men.Discussant(s)
Gabriel Chodorow-Reich
,
Harvard University
Bhashkar Mazumder
,
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
Michael Mueller-Smith
,
University of Michigan
Joseph Sabia
,
San Diego State University
JEL Classifications
- J6 - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers
- J7 - Labor Discrimination