Confounding Issues In The Deadweight Loss Of Giftgiving
Abstract
When a gift is given, someone other than the final consumer makes the consumption choice. Thus there is a possibility that the gift will not match the preferences of the receiver, i.e., the gift will represent a wise use of the money given the gift-giver’s tastes but not necessarily a wise use of money given the recipient’s tastes. In other words, gift giving can result in a deadweight loss. This paper addresses and clarifies the discrepancy between Waldfogel's (1993) finding of a deadweight loss from gift giving and Solnick and Hemenway's (1996) finding of a deadweight gain from gift giving. It also builds on some of the concerns raised by Ruffle and Tykocinski (2000).
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
By making research freely available, we help support the greater global exchange of knowledge. There are no article submission or processing charges. Each journal volume is preserved via the Walker Library's three level preservation methods including local and cloud storage. The author(s) retains/retain the copyright to the work, but grants the Journal the right to publish, display, and distribute the work in print and electronic format. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal. For more information on this license go to https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0.