"Why BYU's Honor Code is not (yet) economically rational"
But, as a quick update: I am home from Kampala and enjoying a short break before Fall semester. I always love getting to spend time with my family in between academic intervals and I am excited to be able to spend the next week or so here, eating dubskis. 
And now, on to another wonderfully statistical adventure:
Now, this revelation came as a consequence of a very fiery and fantastic conversation with my dear friend Alissa (with whom my conversations are always only the most fiery and fantastic). I have recently grown out my beard and she was commenting on how I had better shave it off before the semester started as facial hair is not her personal preference. I quickly rejoined that I would certainly have to shave it off at some point as it is BYU policy that male students be clean shaven at all times - to hell with her personal preferences (see what I mean? fiery! but don't kid yourself, this girl can keep up). She countered with, and I quote, "I am telling you what to do, and you'll do [it]; it's a statistically proven fact." Admirable, and I'm tempted here to counter publicly, but I digress.
As I started to think more about my academic obligation to remove my facial hair, my thoughts started wandering and clicking in their peculiarly imaginative, yet (somewhat) rational way: I wonder how many times a male face is shaved at BYU each semester. And then it hit me: shaving represents a vibrant economic market, right? So why does BYU have such a policy without participating directly in the sector? Wouldn't there be benefits to entry?
The answer is a resounding yes, and it is my intention here to explain how and why.
If we assume that there are about 15,000 males at BYU and each one shaves only once a week - that's already 240,000 shaves a semester and 480,000 over two semesters. Now, if BYU were to participate in the market, I would suggest it add the following stipulation to its policy: students may not use electronic shaving devices. Seems irrational, right? Actually it's quite the opposite.
If BYU offered a partnership with Gillette in exchange for this amendment to their (BYU's) policy, they could expect substantial economic returns.
So, to start out let's make some assumptions. To be generous, let's assume that as a reaction to the rule, only about 12,000 males choose Gillette products. And, based on some price sampling (which I will not detail here), let's average the razor prices at about $10.28 (without taxes, again, to be generous). Let's also say that about 85% of men prefer shaving with facial cream and would also buy Gillette brands averaged at about $3.90. And lastly, lets say that 20% of them like to finish off their shave with a nice lather of moisturizer or cooling lotion averaged at about $6.98.
Now, one Gillette razor will probably last, on average, between 10-15 shaves (I do not take into account here the average elasticity of having a bloody face). This means that, in an eight month period, shaving once a week, a male would go through about 2-3 blades, on average. They would, therefore, need to buy a blade replacement pack. Now, preferences can vary here, but I would say that about 50% would go for the 6-cartridge packs and the other 50% would go for the higher-numbered sets (8-10 pc.). This means that the first 50% would pay about $22.52 and the second group would pay about $26.06. And, since the second group doesn't even pay four dollars more, I'll average both groups at $24.29. Let's also be even a bit more generous and assume that 50% of men collude and split the cost of replacements with a roommate. This would drop the average to about $18.22.
So, over two semesters, the total average cost on shaving for males would be:
34.57*12,000 + 18.22*12,000 + 3.9*10,200 + 6.98*2,400
414,840 + 218,640 + 39,780 + 16,752 = $690,012.
So, this means that if BYU partnered for 10% of Gillette's Orem/ Provo revenues, they (BYU) would be getting about $35,000 dollars a semester. At 5%, they would get half that - about $17,500 - per semester. Economically rational? Absolutely.Now, you may think that is all, but there is another side to the shaving coin - the female side. Admittedly, females are not required to shave at BYU, but based on social preferences, they are still avidly contributing to Gillette's markets.
So, after consulting with some reliable sources, I will assume that the average BYU girl shaves her legs about 2-3 times a week which, if we assume about 15,000 females, would be about 480,000 - 720,000 shaves a semester.
Now, let's again assume that only about 12,000 students choose Gillette products (Venus, in this case) after the Honor Code amendment. I will also assume the same as to the frequency of replacements, but, since we are also assuming that females shave more often (32 - 48 times a semester), they would be buying more replacements then their male counterparts. So, let's say that about 50% would buy two set of replacements while, for the other 50%, just one set would be sufficient (for two semesters). Again with a little price sampling, I have averaged the prices of both razors and cartridges - razors being about $7.96 and cartridge sets being about $14.47.
So, over two semesters, the total average cost on shaving for females would be:
7.96*12,000 + 14.47*12,000 + 14.47*6,000
95,520 + 173,640 + 86,820 = $355,980.
If BYU partnered for 10%, they would get about $18,000 a semester. For 5%, $9,000. So, grand-totaling, if BYU were to partner with Gillette as part of their Honor Code policy, they could be making between $26,500 (5%) - $53,000 (10%) extra dollars a semester. For Fall/ Winter (8 months) that would total to between $53,000 (5%) - $106,000 (10%).
I'd say that's pretty good. That's about $6,625 - $13,250 a month; $1,656 - $3,313 a week; $237 - $473 a day; and so about $10 - $20 dollars an hour. More than minimum wage, I'll tell you that much. And I haven't even considered Gillette's revenue boost once the BYU policy was instituted - another time perhaps.
So there you have it: an (amateur) economist's recommendation to give BYU a boost in revenue for very little cost. They could even institute a Gillette scholarship - genius.
Oh, and BYU, if you are considering adopting this kind of partnership, I will certainly require a reasonable commission for my consultative services.
Happy shaving.
