Evidence on the Economic Consequences of Marriage Equality and LGBT Human Rights

The recent wave of same-sex marriage legalization marks the most significant human rights progress in decades. Nevertheless, the valuation effects on corporate America are unclear. While the arguments supporting marriage equality are largely in the domain of law and sociology, many prominent business leaders are actively engaged in campaigns advocating marriage equality. This suggests that the LGBT civil rights movement of our generation might have valuation implications for corporate America beyond human rights equality. This paper investigates the market perception of state-level same-sex marriage legalization by examining the short-window market reactions to firms headquartered in a state. We find positive market reactions to firms headquartered in states that legally recognize marriage equality. Further, we find that the market views companies more favorably in: (1) first-mover states before the Supreme Court ruling of United States v. Windsor, and (2) states that have stronger anti-discrimination laws for the LGBT community. Our findings complement prior research that focuses on the economic consequences of firm-level LGBT human rights policies by examining the state/nation-level legal impact, adding a new dimension to ethical practices that can have economic consequences.

本研究探讨了同性婚姻合法化对美国企业市场表现的影响，特别是在州级层面。尽管支持婚姻平等的议题主要涉及法律和社会学领域，但许多企业领导人积极参与推动婚姻平等的运动，表明LGBT公民权利运动可能对企业的市场估值产生影响。通过分析总部位于同性婚姻合法化州的企业的短期市场反应，研究发现，市场对这些企业的反应较为积极。具体来说，先行州在美国最高法院裁定“美国诉温莎案”之前以及拥有更强LGBT反歧视法律的州的企业受到市场更青睐。这些发现补充了以往关注企业LGBT人权政策的经济后果的研究，揭示了州级法律对企业伦理实践及其经济后果的影响。

本研究使用了来自Compustat和CRSP的样本数据，包含3119个处理样本和95321个控制样本。回归模型评估了同性婚姻合法化对公司股价的市场反应，使用了市场指数和Fama-French模型作为基准。关键变量是Treat，指示公司是否位于合法化婚姻平等的州。控制变量包括公司规模、杠杆率、盈利能力、流动性等。横截面分析则使用了Pre-Windsor和SEI得分作为影响因素。

本研究发现，同性婚姻合法化对美国企业的市场价值产生了积极影响，尤其是对位于合法化州的公司。先锋州（即在Windsor判决之前合法化同性婚姻的州）以及那些有更强法律保护LGBT社区的州对婚姻平等事件的市场反应更为积极。研究表明，文化多样性对公司绩效和市场价值有积极影响，且企业支持LGBT平等权益不仅体现了道德责任，还促进了经济利益。此外，尽管婚姻平等的合法化带来了经济效益，但若一个州的LGBT法律保护较弱，这种效益可能会减弱，表明LGBT歧视等不道德行为具有经济后果。研究还指出，未能解决某些问题（如LGBT友好政策与公司财富效应的关系、长期表现等）是本研究的局限，并建议未来研究可以进一步探讨LGBT反歧视法律的经济后果。