Bound by Bostock: The effect of policies on attitudes

Abstract

Do laws affect attitudes? Traditional models of policy creation emphasize how public opinion shapes policy but isolating the effect of one on the other is empirically challenging. The unexpected and exogenous nature of the Bostock v. Clayton County Supreme Court decision, which banned employment discrimination for LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) people, lends credibility to the notion of isolating the effect of policies on attitudes. Additionally, the Bostock decision affects labor market policy, while prior work on the relationship between policies and attitudes has primarily examined changes in social policy. I use the Supreme Court’s ruling in Bostock, paired with state variation in LGBT employment protections to estimate difference-in-differences and event study models to demonstrate that states that were “bound by Bostock” experienced a reduction in unfavorable attitudes towards LGBT people, supporting a legitimacy model of policy effects on attitudes. Finally, I examine heterogeneity in effects and find suggestive evidence that those who are interested in government, are male, or are Republican drive effects.