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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™
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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Narrowing The Gap: New Evidence On Earnings Differentials Based On Sexual Orientation, Mikayla Lytton
Narrowing The Gap: New Evidence On Earnings Differentials Based On Sexual Orientation, Mikayla Lytton
Honors Papers
Using General Social Survey data from 1989 to 2008, I estimate earnings differentials between heterosexual and queer workers. When following the model specified in earlier studies, I find that queer men earn between 11.6% less than their heterosexual counterparts and that queer women earned approximately 11.6% more than their heterosexual counterparts. When respecifying the model to account for the gender composition of individuals’ occupations, I find that queer men’s earnings are not statistically different from straight men’s earnings, and the earnings advantage enjoyed by queer women drops marginally, to 10.5%. This addition significantly improves upon the explanatory power of the …
Premium Risk And Healthcare Policy, Matthew Coffina
Premium Risk And Healthcare Policy, Matthew Coffina
Honors Papers
In this paper, I analyze four alternative policies that address "premium risk": the risk that health insurance premiums will increase if an individual acquires a chronic condition. They are: premium risk insurance, community rating, anti-discrimination laws for large firms, and government subsidies. I show that community rating and anti-discrimination laws provide incomplete protection, and have the potential to create welfare-reducing distortions in incentives, while subsidies can be designed that mimic the efficiency of premium risk insurance. While the economic concepts behind these conclusions are well-documented and well-understood, I believe my own model adds value in the form of simplicity and …
Does The Type Of Legal Representation Affect Sentencing Outcomes?, Lawren Elaine Hill
Does The Type Of Legal Representation Affect Sentencing Outcomes?, Lawren Elaine Hill
Honors Papers
This paper examines the potential differences in sentencing outcomes for public defenders compared with private attorneys. I explore the economic literature for explanations, implications, and results. There is a need for extensive research within the field of economics to provide empirical results to offset the mostly game-theoretically dominated discussion of the criminal justice system. The results are inconclusive due to a lack of statistical significance and potential selection bias in the data. Future research relating to this study is also discussed.