Journal of the European Economic Association· 2026Q1
Matching on Gender and Sexual Orientation,
- 1citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2026year
Short summary
Same-sex couples face a "same-sex penalty," experiencing lower gains from live-in relationships, which reduces their prevalence by an estimated 50% in the U.S. marriage market.
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Key points
- A "same-sex penalty" exists, indicating lower gains from live-in relationships for same-sex couples.
- Partner gender is endogenously chosen based on sexual orientation and preference trade-offs.
- Eliminating the penalty could increase the share of same-sex couples in the U.S. by about 50% (from 1.36% to 2.04%).
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Abstract We study the mating patterns of non-heterosexual individuals, who represent a significant and increasing portion of the population, particularly among the youth. We estimate a multidimensional matching model of the marriage market where partner’s gender is endogenously chosen conditional on the agent’s sexual orientation, and is subject to trade-offs that depend on both the agents’ preferences and the pool of potential partners. We show that same-sex couples experience lower gains from live-in relationships, a “same-sex penalty”. Absent this penalty, the share of same-sex couples in the U.S. would increase by about 50% (from 1.36% to 2.04% of all couples).
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Journal of the European Economic Association, 2026 · DOI ↗
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Field: Social Psychology
Social PsychologyPsychology