The deadweight loss of Christmas, continued…

by on December 6, 2006 at 7:22 am in Education | Permalink

As if you didn’t have enough problems:

Every buy a gift for someone that you’re absolutely certain they’ll
love only to realize that you’re totally off the mark?  New research
suggests that the better you know someone, the harder it can be to
predict their taste.  According to researchers at Tilburg University and
Kathiolieke University, we rely too heavily on preconceived notions
because we often think we’re much more similar to the people we love
than we actually are.

Here is more.  Here is my previous post on the deadweight loss of Christmas.

Lori December 6, 2006 at 8:58 am

Why not reduce the deadweight loss of Christmas presents by listing your favorite charities and letting those who itemize have that as an option? I think there is a woman in Ethiopa who needs surgery for her fistula more than I need a Brooks Brothers gift card.

eriks December 6, 2006 at 12:16 pm

I find this to be true for family but not for someone I’m dating.

yoyo December 6, 2006 at 5:56 pm

You’re really missing the point. Most yuppies have far too much money, and too little community. Xmas is a way of trading one for the other.

EclectEcon December 7, 2006 at 8:03 am

The study cited emphasizes the problems of having really tight priors.

sad October 13, 2007 at 2:23 pm
hoojk December 2, 2007 at 10:53 pm
Anonymous October 14, 2008 at 4:10 am

Comments on this entry are closed.

Previous post:

Next post: