> among relatively well-off 40-ish Australians The same is true in the US. Note the ages and geographic locations of the people mentioned in this article. Amo

> among relatively well-off 40-ish Australians The same is true in the US. Note the ages and geographic locations of the people mentioned in this article. Among well-off middle-aged (40+) Americans, in my experience it's more typical for people to compete to pay the ENTIRE bill, every single time, rather than attempting to share. Generally it's bad form to seem like you're competing to pay the bill, but very socially desirable to be known as someone who will pay the bill (and thus must have the money to do so).