"fabio guillermo rojas <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>" wrote:

> A friend of mine noticed that men tend to carry rather large
> amounts of change in their pockets compare to women.
> 
> Any economic explanation of why this is?

Men don't use purses, which have much greater change-carrying 
capacity than wallets (well, I don't use a purse).  Also, men's 
clothing has more pockets than women's clothing, overall (eg., 
jackets, trousers, "cargo pants," etc.).

My perception is that this behavior is reversing, however, as there 
is a long-term trend towards wearing androngynous clothing as casual 
wear, by both men and women.  Visit your local Gap or Citisports, 
and you'll see women shop for subtly-feminized versions of what was 
traditionally men's clothing.  (I'm not making a moral judgement or 
anything -- I shop at these places myself).

I think it can be said that traditional men's clothing is more 
utilitarian then women's clothing, and hence men have tossed change 
into whatever receptacle they find convenient.  Women have been 
forced to throw their junk into purses, since it's incovenient (and 
traditionally unseemly?) to put coinage, pens, random slips of 
paper, etc. into blouse or skirt pockets, which seem to be there for 
effect only.


Sourav

PS:  Coinage is stupid; long live Coinstar!  One of my physics 
teachers calculated that pennies lose their value after having been 
carried around for one week, due to caloric expenditure.


------------------------------------------------------------
Sourav K. Mandal

[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.ikaran.com/Sourav.Mandal/

"In enforcing a truth we need severity rather than
efflorescence of language. We must be simple, 
precise, terse."

                      -- Edgar Allan Poe, 
                        "The Poetic Principle"





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