Human Rights Economic Dividends: Estimating the Economic Effects of Preventing Discrimination

ABSTRACT Economies embracing principles like nondiscrimination are presumed to reap significant rewards, while violations incur heavy costs. We call these benefits human rights economic dividends —the economic gains that arise when policymaking is guided by human rights principles. This article offers an initial quantification of that dividend by estimating the economic impact from the implementation of a recently approved bill in Ghana directly undermining the human rights of LGBTI people. We combine two approaches to estimate economic costs. Macro‐level statistical analyses measure GDP losses from discrimination, while fiscal accounting quantifies public intervention costs under realistic scenarios. Summing both effects yields an estimated annual impact of 0.55% of GDP in 2024, equivalent to over USD 405 million each year. Aside from moral objections, the bill's economic burden and institutional demands are unsustainable.