The Economic Cost of Stigma and the Exclusion of LGBT People : A Case Study of India
Human rights and equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people are usually considered through a social, cultural, or ethical lens, but equality and inclusion of LGBT people are also economic development issues. This report deve...
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| Language: | English en_US |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2015
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2014/10/23952131/economic-cost-stigma-exclusion-lgbt-people-case-study-india http://hdl.handle.net/10986/21515 |
| Summary: | Human rights and equality for lesbian,
gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people are usually
considered through a social, cultural, or ethical lens, but
equality and inclusion of LGBT people are also economic
development issues. This report develops a model to estimate
the economic cost of stigma; negative attitudes toward LGBT
people and the exclusion of LGBT people in social
institutions such as education, employment, families, and
health care. The model is applied to a case study of India.
Three major findings emerge from this report. First, there
is clear evidence of stigma and exclusion exists for LGBT
people in India. Data on public opinion from 2006 shows that
41 percent of Indians would not want a homosexual neighbor,
and 64 percent believe that homosexuality is never
justified. Negative attitudes have diminished over time,
however. Second, the effects of stigma and exclusion are
potentially costly to economies. A conceptual model links
exclusion of LGBT people and economic development through
(1) lower productivity and lower output as a result of
employment discrimination and constraints on labor supply;
(2) inefficient investment in human capital because of lower
returns to education and discrimination in educational
settings; (3) lost output as a result of health disparities
that are linked to exclusion; and (4) social and health
services required to address the effects of exclusion that
might be better spent elsewhere. Third and lastly, in India,
existing research does not allow for a precise estimate of
the cost of LGBT exclusion, but the cost could be
substantial. The loss of labor productivity and output
because of employment discrimination and the loss of life
years due to early death or disability will reduce the
economic output of the Indian economy. With better research
on the lived experiences of LGBT people, researchers could
use existing analytical tools to estimate the total cost of
LGBT exclusion. |
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