Competition and nose jobs

Some high schools force students to wear school chosen uniforms. One justification for such dress codes is that it reduces fashion competition among students. But humans love to compete. My students have told me that when high school girls have to wear uniforms they put a huge amount of time and money into finding the best possible shoes.

Iran forces women to cover much of their bodies, and thus tries to reduce appearance competition among women. But Iranian women are not yet obligated to cover their noses. So what do they do? They get nose jobs. As gulfnews.com reports "For a visitor to Tehran, the number of young women ... sporting post-surgery gauze on their faces is striking. It prompted one US newspaper last year to label Iran a 'nose-job nation'".

(HT Emirates Economist who writes "[P]eople respond to incentives. If you're constrained to cover the rest of your body, you work on your face.)