Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP16852
Authors: Cevat Aksoy; Christopher S. Carpenter; Ralph De Haas; Mathias Dolls; Lisa Windsteiger
Abstract: We study basic information treatments regarding sexual orientation using randomized experiments in three countries with strong and widespread anti-gay attitudes: Serbia, Turkey, and Ukraine. Participants who received information about the economic costs to society of sexual-orientation discrimination were significantly more likely than those in a control group to support equal employment opportunities based on sexual orientation. Information that the World Health Organization (WHO) does not regard homosexuality as a mental illness increased social acceptance of sexual minorities, but only for those who reported trust in the WHO. Our results have important implications for policy makers aiming to expand the rights of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people worldwide.
Keywords: sexual minorities; information treatments; discrimination; attitudes
JEL Codes: D91; J16; J71; O15
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Discrimination cost treatment (J71) | Support for equal employment opportunities based on sexual orientation (J71) |
| Discrimination cost treatment (J71) | Support for equal employment opportunities based on ethnic origin, religious beliefs, nationality, gender, and disability (J71) |
| Myth debunking treatment (E65) | Support for equal employment opportunities based on sexual orientation (J71) |
| Myth debunking treatment (E65) | Attitudes towards sexual minorities in non-economic contexts (J15) |