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Somewhere over the Rainbow: Sexual Orientation Discrimination in Germany

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  • Stephan Humpert

    (Leuphana University Lueneburg, Germany)

Abstract

This paper observes sexual orientation based differences in German incomes. Gay men and lesbian women sort themselves into different occupations and sectors than their heterosexual counterparts. I find evidence that cohabitating gay men have an income penalty of 9 to 10 percent compared with married men, while lesbian women have a premium of about 10 to 12 percent compared with married women. Lesbians in a registered same-sex union have an income gain of about 16 to 21 percent, while the effect for men is not statistically significant. There is evidence that gay households have 9 to 15 percent higher household income than mixed-sex couples. The results for lesbian household income are not statistically significant.

Suggested Citation

  • Stephan Humpert, 2012. "Somewhere over the Rainbow: Sexual Orientation Discrimination in Germany," Working Paper Series in Economics 245, University of Lüneburg, Institute of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:lue:wpaper:245
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Diaz-Serrano, Luis & Meix-Llop, Enric, 2015. "Do Schools Discriminate Against Homosexual Parents? Evidence from an Internet Field Experiment," IZA Discussion Papers 9044, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Humpert, Stephan, 2015. "Size and Structure of Same-Sex Couples in Germany," MPRA Paper 64529, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Humpert, Stephan, 2013. "The immigrant-native pay gap in Germany," MPRA Paper 50413, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Wage Discrimination; Labor Supply; Sexual Orientation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

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