Joel Waldfogel’s article “The Deadweight Loss of Christmas”, published in 1993 in the American Economic Review, is a good example of the kind of contributions that have earned economics its reputation of being the “dismal science”.
Waldfogel doesn't go far enough (or else too far) in eliminating Christmas inefficiency. Rather than exchanges of monetary gifts, the more efficient transaction is a single net payment from the party whose gift is more valuable. More efficient still would be a centralised exchange. Net donors contribute a single lump sum, and net recipients withdraw it.
Waldfogel doesn't go far enough (or else too far) in eliminating Christmas inefficiency. Rather than exchanges of monetary gifts, the more efficient transaction is a single net payment from the party whose gift is more valuable. More efficient still would be a centralised exchange. Net donors contribute a single lump sum, and net recipients withdraw it.