For an economic expert , the holiday season can seem uneconomical . Or at least , it does to the economists behind the Marginal Revolution University weeklyvideo series , Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok . In their late video , the duo tackle the most efficient direction to cross people off your Christmas list . ( Just a warning : You may not wish the answer . )
From an economist ’s view , gifting can be a confirming barter or a negatively charged one . If you get a gift you do n’t like , it ’s worth less to you than it be the someone who buy it . For example , your large - aunt may have spent $ 10 buying yousocks , but you would belike much rather have the hard cash . But if you get a giving you do bask , it ’s worth more than just its cash value . If your unspoiled friend gave you a book theyloved , it might not be worth much in a depot — used Holy Writ are n’t precisely money - maker — but you ’ll likely feel more powerfully about it than its , say , $ 5 market value would dictate .
In cosmopolitan , though , it seems that we often do n’t respect the gifts we have quite as much as the mortal buying the gift might go for . Research by economist Joel Waldfogel has found that on median , people tend to expend around $ 50 per endowment , but recipients tend to evaluate those gifts at only $ 40 . Add up how many gifts you buy each holiday season , and you ’re sing about significant lump of wasted cash .
Speaking of cash , according to Cowen and Tabarrok , as unsentimental as it might finger , Johnny Cash istechnicallythe most efficient giving , economically speaking . Everyone likes it . A $ 20 bill costs the gift - giver $ 20 , and it ’s deserving $ 20 to the recipient . No thriftlessness !
Hear their explanation in the picture below , and stick around until the ending to learn more about the most effective ways to give to brotherly love — which you decidedly should be doing before thetax deadlineon December 31 . If you have n’t been convinced that cash is the elbow room to go , we ’ve got plenty ofgift ideasto help you picture out what to get every person in your life .
[ h / tDigg ]
