tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35248477.post1468012245358659194..comments2024-03-27T14:20:05.905-04:00Comments on Montclair SocioBlog: Christmas and the Destruction of ValueJay Livingstonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06652075579940313964noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35248477.post-58692333733354065392010-01-02T00:22:28.951-05:002010-01-02T00:22:28.951-05:00Hi Anonymous (I'd say Hey Nonny Nonny if we we...Hi Anonymous (I'd say Hey Nonny Nonny if we were on tutoyer terms). I agree. A bit of deadweight loss was one of my New Year's resolutions, and maybe one of yours too. As for the the bookmakers' line on our success -- i.e., the shape of abdominal windows, as you imply, somebody bet on the bay.Jay Livingstonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06652075579940313964noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35248477.post-51047124117643452902010-01-01T17:07:32.797-05:002010-01-01T17:07:32.797-05:00But the maxim (no relation to maxliving)"don&...But the maxim (no relation to maxliving)"don't look a gift horse in the mouth" adds no teeth to the deadweight argument. Gifts are meant to be appreciated even if they do not themselves appreciate. This raises the paradoxical question, "If a diet book, given as a gift, results in deadweight loss ..." (you can fill in the rest.) See Atkins and Montignac as reported in the E-Bay Window.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35248477.post-45892533886138395282009-12-25T10:21:15.073-05:002009-12-25T10:21:15.073-05:00On the Freakonomics blog, they came to the conclus...On the Freakonomics blog, they came to the conclusion that gift cards were the worst. They looked at places like ebay for people reselling gift cards, noting that they were selling them for about 80% of the original value (presumably because it's to a store they have no interest in). So gift cards, they concluded are the worst of both worlds (cash vs. present): they're bland and impersonal, <i>and</i> they result in deadweight loss.maxlivinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04406921986017961980noreply@blogger.com