Importance of Having Reliable Demographics
Reliable data as to the size of the gay and lesbian population would be valuable for informing public policy. For example, demographics would help in calculating the costs and benefits of domestic partnership benefits, of the impact of legalizing gay adoption, and of the impact of the US military's Don't ask, don't tell policy. Further, knowledge of the size of the "gay and lesbian population holds promise for helping social scientists understand a wide array of important questions—questions about the general nature of labor market choices, accumulation of human capital, specialization within households, discrimination, and decisions about geographic location."
Read more about this topic: Demographics Of Sexual Orientation
Famous quotes containing the words importance of, importance and/or reliable:
“The awareness of the all-surpassing importance of social groups is now general property in America.”
—Johan Huizinga (18721945)
“There are secret articles in our treaties with the gods, of more importance than all the rest, which the historian can never know.”
—Henry David Thoreau (18171862)
“The toddlers wish to please ... is a powerful aid in helping the child to develop a social awareness and, eventually, a moral conscience. The childs love for the parent is so strong that it causes him to change his behavior: to refrain from hitting and biting, to share toys with a peer, to become toilet trained. This wish for approval is the parents most reliable ally in the process of socializing the child.”
—Alicia F. Lieberman (20th century)