Institutions, attitudes and LGBT: Evidence from the gold rush

•The locational distribution of present-day LGBT population in the US is related to the gold rushes during the 19th century.•There are 15% more same-sex couples nowadays in counties that formerly had a gold rush discovery.•Attitudes toward homosexuality are more favorable in former gold rush countie...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of economic behavior & organization 2021-07, Vol.187, p.92-110
Main Authors: Brodeur, Abel, Haddad, Joanne
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attitudes
Institutions
Isolation
LGBT
Persistence
Religion
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Summary:•The locational distribution of present-day LGBT population in the US is related to the gold rushes during the 19th century.•There are 15% more same-sex couples nowadays in counties that formerly had a gold rush discovery.•Attitudes toward homosexuality are more favorable in former gold rush counties.•Potential mechanisms include selective migration and lack of strong religious institutions. This paper relates the size of the present-day LGBT population to the discovery of gold during the nineteenth century gold rushes. Comparing the surroundings of gold rush counties to other mining counties, we find that there are currently 15% more same-sex couples in former gold rush counties and that residents of these counties have more favorable attitudes toward homosexuality. Gold rush counties were initially isolated, mostly uninhabited and lacked strong formal institutions, which helped shaping pro-LGBT attitudes. Examining channels of persistence, we provide empirical evidence for selective migration and the lack of strong religious institutions.
ISSN:0167-2681
1879-1751
DOI:10.1016/j.jebo.2021.04.021