The Economic Case for LGBT Equality

Join moderator Ari Shaw with economist M. V. Lee Badgett to discuss her new book, The Economic Case for LGBT Equality: Why Fair and Equal Treatment Benefit Us All. We know that homophobia and transphobia harm LGBT individuals in many ways, but Badgett argues that in addition to moral and human rights reasons for equality, we can now also make a financial argument. Badgett reveals the expensive repercussions of hate and discrimination, and how our economy loses when we miss out on the full benefit of LGBT people’s potential contributions. Finding that homophobia and transphobia cost 1% or more of a country’s GDP, Badgett expertly uses recent research and statistics to analyze how these hostile practices and environments affect both the US and global economies.