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- Dujeancourt, Erwan
(author)
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Labor, firm and wealth effects of gender and sexuality
- 2024
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The prevalence of LGBTQ+ individuals, which stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and additional identities, is steadily increasing in society. Global surveys conducted in 2023 indicate that 9% of adults in the world identify as LGBTQ+ individuals, with the proportion increasing to 18% among the youngest generation (Jackson, 2023). This demographic shift emphasizes the necessity for further economic research regarding LGBTQ+ populations. The aim of this thesis is therefore to explore the role of gender and sexuality in labor, firm, and wealth disparities.The first paper, "Sexual Orientation, Entrepreneurship, and Firm Survival," draws on Swedish population and business registry data from 1995–2020. The findings reveal that sexual minority men are 7.8% less likely to engage in entrepreneurship than comparable heterosexual men, while sexual minority women are 4.8% more likely to do so than their comparable heterosexual counterparts. Additionally, it examines the survival rates of firms founded by sexual minorities, where disparities are found particularly for ventures led by sexual minority women. The results show that both external factors (such as attitudes toward sexual minorities and the density of same-sex couples) and internal factors (e.g., the presence of a romantic partner) may contribute to the differential survival of ventures founded by sexual minority women.The second paper, "Wealth, Gender and Sexual Orientation – Evidence from Siblings," analyzes administrative data to explore wealth differentials across genders and sexual orientations. This study shows nuanced patterns, such as a wealth penalty for men in same-sex couples below the P80 percentile and a persistent wealth penalty for women below the P95 percentile.The third paper, "Sexual Orientation and Multiple Job Holding: Evidence from Swedish Administrative Data," investigates the incidence of multiple job holdings among sexual minority individuals. This paper finds that sexual minority individuals are significantly more likely to hold multiple jobs, with the drivers of providing self-insurance for men and career mobility for women. Notably, holding multiple jobs among sexual minority women is associated with reduced unemployment and increased earnings growth.In the fourth paper, “The Role of Legal Gender Change in Labor Market Outcomes,” a cohort of over 900 transgender individuals in Sweden who underwent legal gender changes is studied. A comparative approach reveals disparities in labor market outcomes, showing a reduced likelihood of employment and lower salary for transgender individuals compared to their cisgender siblings. Furthermore, transgender men have lower salaries, while transgender women have higher salaries but encounter challenges in finding employment after changing their legal gender. These findings highlight the vulnerable economic standing of transgender individuals in Sweden.Through empirical analysis, this thesis underscores socioeconomic (in)equalities and their drivers across both sexuality and gender, offering insights into the economic opportunities and challenges of a growing population group.
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