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The deadweight loss of Christmas, continued...
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.
Posted by Tyler Cowen on December 6, 2006 at 07:22 AM in Education | Permalink
Comments
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.
Posted by: Lori at Dec 6, 2006 8:58:45 AM
In fact, the couples who participated in the study (all of whom had been dating for at least six months)Six months was the lower bound? That seems awfully low to me...
Maybe that has application for folks who are dating or are in college, but I don't think there is a single person I've known less than five years that I intend to buy a gift for this Christmas, excepting my kids.
Posted by: bob montgomery at Dec 6, 2006 12:01:57 PM
I find this to be true for family but not for someone I'm dating.
Posted by: eriks at Dec 6, 2006 12:16:02 PM
This sounds exactly like my problem. I have been dating my girlfriend for 3 years now. And well, I have no idea what to give her. I at least realize that I have no idea how to predict her tastes. But that gets me nowhere. And we have been together too long for me to give her a giftcard. Maybe I am overthinking this Christmas thing too much.
Posted by: Brooke at Dec 6, 2006 12:26:11 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.
Posted by: yoyo at Dec 6, 2006 5:56:41 PM
When I was in high school and college, 75% of my family's christmas gift exchange consisted of me going out on the morning of the 24th with a list of sewing items given from my mom to my dad to me, a list of biking items given from my dad to my mom to me, a list of video games given from my brother to my mom to me, and my dad's credit card.
This did reduce the dead weight somewhat, but also somewhat defeats the purpose... also I did not enjoy it very much. We have since stopped celebrating christmas at all except for getting together.
I am now very close to neither giving nor receiving gifts at all... down only my work staff, because they insist on giving me something. I hope one year to get down to 0/0.
Posted by: BillWallace at Dec 6, 2006 8:59:33 PM
The study cited emphasizes the problems of having really tight priors.
Posted by: EclectEcon at Dec 7, 2006 8:03:34 AM
So in relation to advertising and predicting what stragegies will work best for ones business does this also apply? Say, I grew up in a specific town and knew allot of people who resided there. I then decided I would like to open a restaurant. I preform my necessacary environmental scanning and market research. Now, I have picked out a business idea to appeal to people that I feel that I know - and in a sense I am predicting what they will like. Is this then a reason why so many new restaurants and small businesses fail?
Just a thought...
Posted by: Deiah Haddock at Dec 7, 2006 9:09:19 PM
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