Research
Research
"Effects of Workplace Anti-Discrimination Policies on Families: Evidence from 'Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell'"
The repeal of ``Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) in 2011 marked a significant shift in U.S. military policy, allowing lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals to serve openly without risking discharge. Using a difference-in-differences approach paired with data from the 2008-2019 American Community Survey, I leverage information on active-duty military employees and their families to study the effects of the DADT repeal on same-sex partnership formation and downstream economic outcomes. I find that repealing DADT substantially increased same-sex partnership among women in the military while having no effect on same-sex partnership rates among active duty men. These effects were not limited to family structure -- I also show that civilian women in same-sex partnerships with active-duty women are more likely to have military health insurance coverage following the DADT repeal. This paper provides the first evidence of the effects of repealing DADT on sexual minorities in the military, shedding new light on the relationship between workplace discrimination and family formation and contributing to the broader literature on LGBTQ+ rights and policies.
"Gender Minority Status and Family Inequality in the United States"
with Christopher S. Carpenter and Maxine J. Lee | The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences | LINK
We provide the first evidence on family outcomes of transgender and other gender minority populations in the United States using over 15,000 non-cisgender adults in the Census Bureau’s 2020-2022 Household Pulse, the only nationally representative survey in the US with information on sex at birth and current gender. These data indicate that non-cisgender individuals are significantly less likely to be married and more likely to be widowed than their cisgender counterparts. These differences are smaller but remain statistically significant when we control for demographic characteristics, most notably the fact that non-cisgender individuals are younger and less likely to be heterosexual than cisgender people. Non-cisgender individuals are also significantly less likely than otherwise similar cisgender women to have children in the household. Interestingly, non-cisgender individuals live in households with significantly more adults than otherwise similar cisgender adults. These patterns are largely replicated in the 35 states that have asked about transgender status in the Centers for Disease Control’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Our results provide important benchmarks for future work examining family structures of gender minority populations in the US and highlight the importance of adding gender identity questions to surveys that include detailed household rosters.
"Sexual Orientation Based Health Disparities in Chile"
with Samuel Mann and Gilbert Gonzales | PLOS One | LINK
Numerous studies from Europe and North America have documented sexual orientation-based health disparities, but due to data limitations, very little is known about the health of sexual minorities in developing countries. This research note uses newly available nationally representative data from the Chilean Socio-Economic Characterization Survey (CASEN) to explore sexual orientation-based disparities in self-rated health, health insurance coverage, and healthcare utilization in Chile for the first time. Our findings indicate that sexual minority respondents report worse self-rated health and greater health care utilization, and that sexual minority men are more likely to have private health insurance relative to heterosexual men. These findings are important in facilitating continued efforts to reduce health disparities in Latin America.
"Gender Identity, Labor Market Outcomes, and Socioeconomic Status: Evidence from Chile"
Labour Economics | LINK
This paper provides the first evidence of differential labor market and socioeconomic outcomes for noncisgender individuals in Latin America using nationally representative data. Very little is known about gender diverse populations in the developing world. Recent population-based data from the 2017 Chilean National Socioeconomic Characterization Survey allows for the identification of over 1,800 noncisgender adults (i.e., individuals whose reported gender identity differs from their sex assigned at birth.) I examine labor market and socioeconomic status in the context of gender identity, while controlling for relevant individual- and household-level characteristics. I find that noncisgender individuals who were assigned male at birth are less likely to be employed, and more likely to be living in a household that is multidimensionally poor when compared to otherwise similar cisgender men. Noncisgender individuals who were assigned female at birth are more likely to be employed, and report higher labor incomes, relative to otherwise similar cisgender women.
"Economic outcomes for transgender people and other gender minorities in the United States: First estimates from a nationally representative sample."
with Christopher S. Carpenter and Maxine J. Lee | Southern Economic Journal | LINK
We provide the literature's first estimates of economic outcomes for transgender people and other gender minorities in the United States using nationally representative data from the U.S. Census Bureau's Household Pulse Survey which identifies over 9,400 individuals from 2021 to 2022 who are non-cisgender (i.e., whose current gender does not align with their sex assigned at birth). We find that non-cisgender individuals are significantly less likely to be employed, have higher poverty rates, are more likely to have public health insurance, and report greater food insecurity compared to otherwise similar cisgender individuals. We also find that non-cisgender Black individuals fare significantly worse than non-cisgender white individuals. Our results demonstrate the precarious economic position of gender minority populations in America.
"Association of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Mental Health of Gender Minority Adults in 17 States"
with Nathaniel M. Tran, Samuel Mann, Manuel G. Cortez, and Benjamin Harrell | Preventative Medicine | LINK
We document disparities in exposure to ACEs across gender identity as well as the differential effects of ACEs on mental health across gender identity. We show that transgender individuals are more likely to be exposed to ACEs. Among populations not exposed to ACEs there is no transgender mental health disparity. The transgender mental health disparity arises due to greater exposure to ACEs and disproportionate negative impacts of ACEs.
"Transgender Economics"
with Travis Campell, Olivia Compton, Fadime İrem Doğan, Yunus Kara, and Karinna Saxby
This paper reviews the state of transgender and gender diverse (TGD) economic research and labor market data, compiling global data on TGD labor market outcomes, representing over half a million TGD individuals across 87 countries between 2005 and 2025, with broad geographic coverage outside of the Middle East and North Africa. TGD workers, on average, earn just 79.4 cents for every dollar earned by cisgender workers. TGD workers face twice the unemployment rate of cisgender workers (16.3% vs. 8.0%), despite similar labor force participation rates (63.1% vs. 65.9%), leading to a far lower employment rate (53.0% vs. 60.8%). To explain these findings, we provide the first economic model of gender. The model treats gender as a constrained choice: individuals derive utility from expressing their gender identity but must allocate resources to modify their gender expression, creating a tradeoff. If a person’s gender expression deviates from social norms tied to their perceived gender, they may face discrimination, reducing their identity payoff. Consequently, individuals must balance the benefits of expressing their gender identity against the costs of discrimination, minority stress, gender dysphoria, and resources. The model predicts key findings in the literature, such as disparities in mental health and labor market outcomes for TGD individuals, the nonlinear effects of gender transitions, the positive impact of gender-affirming care and supportive family environments on mental health, and the negative effects of perceived gender incongruence, conversion therapy, and identity development in unsupportive families.
"Financial Inclusion in Papua New Guinea" with Martin H. Davies