{"id":22,"date":"2025-04-30T14:43:28","date_gmt":"2025-04-30T18:43:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/?p=22"},"modified":"2025-05-06T13:39:23","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T17:39:23","slug":"gift-giving-is-all-about-relationships-not-goods-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2025\/04\/30\/gift-giving-is-all-about-relationships-not-goods-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/","title":{"rendered":"Gift giving is all about relationships, not goods \u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Economics is labeled the \u201cdismal science,\u201d and often for good reason. Using standard economic thinking it is easy to show that the holiday custom of gift-giving is an enormous waste of time and resources. Ebenezer Scrooge was right: the whole thing is a humbug! Take that bottle of cologne Nephew Fred gives Uncle Ebenezer.\u00a0 It is probably not the brand the old miser likes, nor one he would buy for himself.\u00a0 Economists point out that an individual knows his or her own preferences better than any other person in the world.\u00a0 So, when nephew Fred buys any gift for his uncle, he can never choose as well as his Uncle could for himself. Plus, Fred wastes time shopping. Ebenezer wastes his time when he returns the unwanted bottle of cologne and exchanges it for what he wants. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Fred would have been much wiser and richer had he done what <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aier.org\/article\/gift-giving-is-better-for-society-than-economists-think\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">economists often propose<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\">:<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> just give Uncle Ebenezer money. Indeed, the economists\u2019 ideal Christmas was proposed by a late brother-in-law of Bohanon\u2019s: \u201cI\u2019ll write you a check for $50, and you write me a check for $50, and we rip up the checks by the Christmas Tree: Merry Christmas!\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559731&quot;:720,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">We love economics, but it is good for economists to get out of our bubble now and then. As one of our heroes, Nobel prize-winning economist Fredrich Hayek, once said: &#8220;A little social psychology and anthropology reveal there is more to the economists\u2019 gift-giving story.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559731&quot;:720,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">First, friends and family often have a better idea of what is best for them. Both our wives know what clothes look better on us than we do. We suspect most all married men concur. Second, gift-giving is an essential part of almost all cultures. Gift-giving shows we are willing to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.psychologytoday.com\/us\/blog\/between-you-and-me\/201206\/the-pros-and-cons-sacrificing-the-ones-we-love\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">sacrifice for the people we care about<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">.\u00a0 This shows that we are trustworthy and care about the relationship. Being trustworthy and willing to sacrifice for others is <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.anthroencyclopedia.com\/entry\/gifts\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">vital to reciprocity and exchange<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">.\u00a0 Gift-giving is not primarily about the goods but about the relationship. Adam Smith, the father of economics, knew this. He noted, \u201c(the) chief part of human happiness arises from the consciousness of being beloved.&#8221; Happy Holidays from Adam Smith.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559731&quot;:720,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Economics is labeled the \u201cdismal science,\u201d and often for good reason. Using standard economic thinking it is easy to show that the holiday custom of gift-giving is an enormous waste of time and resources. Ebenezer Scrooge was right: the whole thing is a humbug! Take that bottle of cologne Nephew Fred gives Uncle Ebenezer.\u00a0 It [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[146],"tags":[158,153,155,148,147,157,151,154,149,156,150,152],"class_list":["post-22","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-culture","tag-adam-smith","tag-anthropology","tag-culture","tag-dismal-science","tag-economics","tag-exchange","tag-fredrich-hayek","tag-gift-giving","tag-gifts","tag-reciprocity","tag-scrooge","tag-social-psychology"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Gift giving is all about relationships, not goods \u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz - Econ Briefs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2025\/04\/30\/gift-giving-is-all-about-relationships-not-goods-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gift giving is all about relationships, not goods \u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz - Econ Briefs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Economics is labeled the \u201cdismal science,\u201d and often for good reason. 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