Incentives Matter, Football Helmet Edition
11 November 2009
| Peter Klein |
Latest example of the Peltzman Effect, courtesy of the WSJ: “Is It Time to Retire the Football Helmet?” E.g.: “[W]hile [hard-shell] helmets reduced the chances of death on the field, they also created a sense of invulnerability that encouraged players to collide more forcefully and more often.” Economics teachers, if you’re tired of using the seat-belt example, or the one about airplane child-safety seats — or Dwight Lee’s slightly more risqué version — try this one instead.
5 Comments Add your own
Leave a Comment
Some HTML allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <pre> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>
Trackback this post | Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed
1.
Cliff Grammich | 11 November 2009 at 6:31 pm
Isn’t there some similar evidence regarding boxing gloves, that is, that boxing without gloves is less likely to lead to brain injury (if possibly more broken hands) than boxing with them?
2.
Peter Klein | 11 November 2009 at 6:32 pm
Indeed, yes, I should have mentioned that.
3.
Cliff Grammich | 11 November 2009 at 10:42 pm
I also recall research (summarized at http://bit.ly/b8Wtn) that motorists give less room to bicyclists wearing helmets–bicyclists who may therefore be in more danger than bicyclists without helmets. (Nevertheless, the missus still insists I wear one, apparently unconvinced by the research or even the thickness of my skull.)
4. Gynnas fotgängarna av ny airbag? « Nonicoclolasos | 16 November 2009 at 11:40 pm
[...] Se även Peter Kleins inlägg ”Incentives Matter, Football Helmet Edition”. [...]
5. Back to Some Economic Basics: Football vs. Rugby | Austrian Economics Blog | 18 November 2009 at 1:30 pm
[...] Peter Klein now reports the incentives do indeed matter in all walks of life and football is no exception. He doesn't discuss the comparison, so I think an energetic and enterprising graduate student can pursue the football v rugby study if they wanted. Follow the links Peter provides for some other entertaining examples. [...]