Deadweight Christmas: The Microeconomic Destruction of Holiday Gift Giving

Every December, billions of dollars are injected into the global economy through the ritual of gift-giving. Yet, from a strict economic perspective, this heartwarming tradition is an unmitigated financial disaster. The Deadweight Loss of Christmas is a microeconomic concept formulated by Joel Waldfogel, demonstrating that gifts systematically destroy value. If you spend fifty dollars on a sweate...