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The Efficient Christmas: Why Economists Hate Gifts : The Indicator from Planet Money When economists see holiday gifts, they see waste: sweaters that never get worn; books that never get read. Many recommend cash or no gift at all. Economist Tim Harford may have a compromise.
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The Efficient Christmas: Why Economists Hate Gifts

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The Efficient Christmas: Why Economists Hate Gifts

The Indicator from Planet Money

The Efficient Christmas: Why Economists Hate Gifts

The Efficient Christmas: Why Economists Hate Gifts

Listen · 9:52
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/788587668/788587865" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
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Philipp Nemenz/Getty Images
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Philipp Nemenz/Getty Images

A recent study from Finder.com estimates more than 15 billion dollars in unwanted Christmas Gifts will be exchanged this holiday season. To economists, this means more than 15 billion dollars in waste. For this reason, economists usually recommend buying no gift at all, or just giving cash. But economist Tim Harford says he has a solution.

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