In 1922, famed etiquette writer Emily Post advised her readers that 10% is the standard for tipping your waiter. Since then, “gratuity creep” has been so steady that tip jars are now ubiquitous and 25-30% is considered the rule in New York City. Uber once resisted this trend, but recently added a tipping feature to its app. What is the economic rationale behind tipping? Does the usefulness of tipping diminish the more that a certain rate becomes an expectation? At a certain point, would it be better to do without the fuss involved and simply include that portion of a service provider’s compensation in the wages paid by the employer? Economists Antony Davies and James Harrigan explore these questions and more.
Supporting Data
- How Much Do Waiters Really Earn in Tips? | www.theatlantic.com
- PayScale's Restaurant Report Full Data | www.payscale.com
- Waiters and Waitresses | www.bls.gov
- Tips | www.dol.gov
- Fact Sheet - Wage and Hour Division (WHD) - U.S. Department of Labor | www.dol.gov
Related Articles
- Marriott Urges Hotel Guests to Tip Housekeepers | time.com
- 15 Things You Didn't Know About Tipping | time.com
- 15 Things You Didn't Know About Tipping | time.com
- 37. Traveling at Home and Abroad. Post, Emily. 1922. Etiquette www.bartleby.com
- Tipping the scales | nypost.com
- Ridesharing: An Etiquette Guide for Fellow Millennials | Brittany Hunter | fee.org
- Why Be Nice to Your Cab Driver? | Jeffrey A. Tucker | fee.org
- Tip with Cash, Free the World | Peter Kallman | fee.org
- The Social Value of Manners | Henry Hazlitt | fee.org
- Free Markets Refine Good Manners | Richard M. Ebeling | fee.org
Antony Davies
Antony Davies is an associate professor of economics at Duquesne University and Chief Academic Officer at FreedomTrust.
James R. Harrigan
James R. Harrigan teaches in the Department of Political Economy and Moral Science at the University of Arizona and is CEO of FreedomTrust.
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