Abstract
This paper develops an economic analysis of the toilet seat etiquette. I investigate whether there is any efficiency justification for the presumption that men should leave the toilet seat down after use. I find that the "down rule" is inefficient unless there is a large asymmetry in the inconvenience costs of shifting the position of the toilet seat across genders. I show that the "selfish" or the "status quo" rule that leaves the toilet seat in the position used dominates the down rule in a wide range of parameter spaces including the case where the inconvenience costs are the same. (JEL D7, H4)
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 303-309 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Economic Inquiry |
Volume | 49 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2011 Jan |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Business, Management and Accounting(all)
- Economics and Econometrics