Journal article
Life satisfaction and sexual minorities: Evidence from Australia and the United Kingdom
N Powdthavee, M Wooden
Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization | Published : 2015
Abstract
Very little is known about how the differential treatment of sexual minorities could influence subjective reports of overall well-being. This paper seeks to fill this gap. Data from two large surveys that provide nationally representative samples for two different countries - Australia and the UK - are used to estimate a simultaneous equations model of life satisfaction. The model allows for self-reported sexual identity to influence a measure of life satisfaction both directly and indirectly through seven different channels: (i) income; (ii) employment; (iii) health (iv) marriage and de facto relationships; (v) children; (vi) friendship networks; and (vii) education. Lesbian, gay and bisexu..
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Awarded by Economic and Social Research Council
Funding Acknowledgements
The paper uses unit record data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey and the UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS). The HILDA Survey project was initiated and is funded by the Australian Government Department of Social Services and is managed by the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research (at the University of Melbourne) with service delivery by Roy Morgan Research. The UKHLS is an initiative of the Economic and Social Research Council, with scientific leadership provided by the Institute for Social and Economic Research, University of Essex, and survey delivery by NatCen Social Research. The findings and views reported in this paper, however, are those of the authors and should not be attributed to any of the aforementioned organizations.