Comment on the assumption common to most economic
models that all individuals are rational and make optimal
decisions in response to economic incentives.
According to the FBI Bank Crime Statistics, there were
nearly 4,000 bank robberies in the United States in 2014.
The FBI claims that banks have made themselves easy targets
by refusing to install clear acrylic partitions, called
bandit barriers, that separate bank tellers from the public.
According to a special agent with the FBI, “Bandit barriers
are a great deterrent. We’ve talked to guys who rob
banks, and as soon as they see a bandit barrier, they go
find another bank.” Despite this finding, many banks have
been reluctant to install these barriers. Wouldn’t banks
have a strong incentive to install bandit barriers to deter
robberies? Why, then, do so many banks not do so?