Speaker
Description
This paper tests the hypothesis that British colonial institutions promoted sexual prejudice—defined as negative attitudes toward sexual minorities—in postcolonial societies. We document five main findings. First, after accounting for differences in contemporary income per capita, OLS estimates from a cross-country sample of former European colonies reveal that former British colonies exhibit higher sexual prejudice than those of other European powers. Second, Geo-RDD estimates show that former British colonies have significantly greater sexual prejudice than former Portuguese colonies in Southeastern Africa, where local norms did not systematically condemn same-sex. Third, Geo-RDD estimates also indicate that former British and French colonies display similar levels of sexual prejudice in Western Africa, where religious norms systematically condemn same-sex acts. Fourth, additional evidence from areas in South America and Southeast Asia not characterized by homophobic social norms before colonization reinforces the external validity of our results on Southeastern Africa. Finally, mechanisms analysis suggests that the lasting presence of sodomy laws entirely accounts for the negative association between British colonial origin and contemporary sexual prejudice across countries. Overall, our results indicate that British colonial origin notably increased sexual prejudice in societies with social norms different from the penal codes imposed by colonizers.
| Keyword | Other |
|---|
