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The Cost of Coming Out

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  • Enzo Brox
  • Riccardo Di Francesco

Abstract

The fear of social stigma leads many individuals worldwide to hesitate in disclosing their sexual orientation. Since concealing identity is costly, it is crucial to understand the extent of anti-LGB sentiments and reactions to coming out. This paper uses an innovative data source from a popular online game together with a natural experiment to overcome existing data and endogeneity issues. We exploit exogenous variation in the identity of a character to identify the effects of coming out on players' revealed preferences for that character across diverse regions globally. Our findings reveal a substantial and persistent negative impact of coming out.

Suggested Citation

  • Enzo Brox & Riccardo Di Francesco, 2024. "The Cost of Coming Out," Papers 2403.03649, arXiv.org, revised Jun 2024.
    • Handle: RePEc:arx:papers:2403.03649
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing
    • K38 - Law and Economics - - Other Substantive Areas of Law - - - Human Rights Law; Gender Law; Animal Rights Law

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