Reforms in other areas, though less dramatic, would still have been unthinkable before Katrina.

ECONOMIST: New Orleans five years after Katrina

Particularly striking is the fact that the same phenomenon, though less dramatic, is evident for corporate tax and social insurance collections.

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Sometimes people do break out - though usually in less dramatic fashion than in the Canadian incident.

BBC: Great escapes: The most daring prison breakouts

On closer inspection, though, these numbers turn out to be less dramatic.

ECONOMIST: Randomised trials could help show whether aid works