Should Tipping Be Banned? An Expert Says Yes

The always enlightening Freakonomics podcast has taken on the sometimes controversial of tipping.

And host Steven D. Levitt, an economist, is not a big fan of the practice.

That’s probably why the award-winning podcast interviewed Cornell University professor Michael Lynn, who has written 51 academic papers on the subject.

“I haven’t done it with the most recent records,” Lynn said, “but approximately $40 billion is tipped each year in the United States.”

Lynn teaches at Cornell University’s School of Hotel Management. He says tipping should be banned because it is inherently discriminatory; slender, buxom white women get tipped the most. A study shows that in countries where tipping is prominent, there is also high corruption likely present.

Listen to the Freakonomics podcast here

Do you agree that tipping should be banned? Let us know in the comments.