Tag Archives: gifts

Smiling at a deadweight loss

featured image: Matt Stratton/Flickr CC BY NC ND 2.0) Should we be simply be giving each other cash, or are presents better after all? 28 years ago, then young-ish economist Joel Waldfogel wrote a paper, The Deadweight Loss of Christmas, … Continue reading

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Giving time

(featured image credit Chris Zúniga CC BY) When it comes to what we can do for others, time is the thing. By the late 1930s, De Beers, which at the time controlled well over half of the global production of … Continue reading

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Why are we giving gifts?

(Featured image credit: Peter Dutton CC BY) Lifting the veil over a mysterious custom This is the time of the year when it is obligatory for any piece with even the vaguest reference to Christmas, gifts, or economics to mention … Continue reading

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The intriguing psychology of gift economics

(featured image credit: stux/geralt/artsybee) What does viewing the giving of gifts as economic transactions reveal about what we really value? It’s two days before Christmas. You’re frantically looking for a gift for the one person you completely forgot. What is … Continue reading

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The true meaning of a gift

(featured image credit: pexels/pixabay) It’s not necessarily what is in the box that matters The season of goodwill and of finding suitable gifts for relatives and friends is upon us once again. It’s also the time of the year when economist … Continue reading

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