M.V. Lee Badgett profile photo

M.V. Lee Badgett

Professor Emeritx of Economics

  • Amherst MA UNITED STATES

M. V. Lee Badgett is one of the world’s leading experts on the economics of same-sex marriage.

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Spotlight

1 min

From home bakers to commercial food producers, everyone knows that cleaning peanut butter off utensils and out of bowls is a tricky, sticky proposition. That’s because of the high-fat content of peanuts and the chemical reality that water and oil don’t mix. To address the more serious implications, University of Massachusetts Amherst food scientist Lynne McLandsborough has received a $434,215 grant from the USDA to develop an oil-based system to clean and sanitize food processing equipment without water, reducing the high risk for   contamination associated with nuts. McLandsborough’s award was one of 19 food safety and defense grants totaling $8 million announced recently by the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

M.V. Lee Badgett

Expertise

Economics of Sexual Orientation and Same-Sex Marriage
Gay Marriage
LGBT Inclusion
Labor Economics
Same-sex Couples

Biography

M. V. Lee Badgett is one of the world’s leading experts on the economics of same-sex marriage, and appears frequently in media coverage of gay marriage efforts both domestically and internationally.

She has appeared on National Public Radio, in the New York Times, the Washington Post and other national and international media.

Janet Yellen, former chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve and Secretary of the Treasury in the Biden administration, called Badgett's 2020 book, "The Economic Case for LGBT Equality, "eye-opening in its global scope .... a must-read for all business leaders and policymakers."

Social Media

Video

Education

The University of Chicago

A.B.

Economics

The University of California, Berkeley

Ph.D.

Economics

Select Recent Media Coverage

Marriage equality brings joy

Bangkok Post  online

2024-07-02

Lee Badgett is quoted in an article on marriage-equality legislation in Thailand. She says the legislation, which allows same-sex couples to register their marriage and receive the same protections as heterosexual marriages, will produce economic benefits.

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Retired UMass prof picked for Melinda French Gates’ $240M women empowerment project

Daily Hampshire Gazette  online

2024-05-30

M.V. Lee Badgett, who formerly directed the Center for Public Policy and Administration at UMass, is one of 12 leaders across the globe getting equal shares of $240 million from Pivotal Ventures for distribution to nonprofits in support of women’s health and well-being. "This opportunity, Badgett said. “means that I will allocate $20 million in grants to charitable organizations that improve the health and well-being of women.”

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The economic impact of LGBT rights in firms and countries, policy trends, wage gaps and reasons for optimism

Scientific Sense Podcast  online

2024-05-28

Prof. M. V. Lee Badgett is a professor of economics and co-director of the Center for Employment Equity at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She is also a Williams Distinguished Scholar at UCLA’s Williams Institute. Her research focuses on economic inequality for LGBT people, including wage gaps, employment discrimination, and poverty, and on the global cost of homophobia and transphobia. Her latest book is The Economic Case for LGBT Equality: Why Fair and Equal Treatment Benefits Us All (Beacon Press, 2020).

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Select Publications

Who Is Fighting the Economic Oppression of LGBTQI+ People?

The Advocate

M.V. Lee Badgett

2021-05-17

Badgett writes, "The creativity, resourcefulness, and hard work of LGBTI people aren’t new, but the pandemic has made it clear how urgent these strategies are. Economic livelihoods were precarious for LGBTI people throughout the world before COVID arrived, with high poverty rates and discriminatory barriers to jobs."

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The Economic Case for LGBT Equality: Why Fair and Equal Treatment Benefits Us All (Book)

Beacon Press

M.V. Lee Badgett

2020-05-19

UMass Amherst economist Lee Badgett demonstrates how LGBT equality and inclusion within organizations increases their bottom line and allows for countries’ economies to flourish.

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The Connection Between Strong Economies and LGBT Rights Is No Joke

The Advocate

M.V. Lee Badgett, Andrew Flores and Andrew Park

2018-04-27

In the past, many governments around the world have seen LGBT rights as a fringe issue. But now LGBT people are getting the world’s attention on core issues of life and death.

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