首页
登录
职称英语
Economics has long been known as the dismal science. But is any economist so
Economics has long been known as the dismal science. But is any economist so
游客
2025-03-28
27
管理
问题
Economics has long been known as the dismal science. But is any economist so dreary as to criticize Christmas? At first glance, the holiday season in western economies seems a treat for those concerned with such vagaries as GDP growth. After all, everyone is spending; in America, retailers make 25% of their yearly sales and 60% of their profits between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Even so, economists find something to worry about in the nature of the purchases being made.
Much of the holiday spending is on gifts for others. At the simplest level, giving gifts involves the giver thinking of something that the recipient would like—he tries to guess her preferences, as economists say—and then buying the gift and delivering it. Yet this guessing of preferences is no mean feat; indeed, it is often done badly. Every year, ties go unworn and books unread. And even if a gift is enjoyed, it may not be what the recipient would have bought had they spent the money themselves. Intrigued by this mismatch between wants and gifts, in 1993 Joel Waldfogel, then an economist at Yale University, sought to estimate the disparity in dollar terms. In a paper that has proved seminal in the literature on the issue, he asked students two questions at the end of a holiday season: first, estimate the total amount paid (by the givers) for all the holiday gifts you received; second, apart from the sentimental value of the items, if you did not have them, how much would you be willing to pay to get them? His results were gloomy: on average, a gift was valued by the recipient well below the price paid by the giver. The most conservative estimate put the average receiver’s valuation at 90% of the buying price. The missing 10% is what economists call a deadweight loss: a waste of resources that could be averted without making anyone worse off. In other words, if the giver gave the cash value of the purchase instead of the gift itself, the recipient could then buy what she really wants, and be better off for no extra cost. If the results are generalized, a waste of one dollar in ten represents a huge aggregate loss to society. It suggests that in America, where givers spend $40 billion on Christmas gifts, $4 billion is being lost annually in the process of gift-giving. Add in birthdays, weddings and non-Christian occasions, and the figure would balloon. So should economists advocate an end to gift-giving, or at least press for money to become the gift of choice? [br] Why do some people regard the holiday season in western economies a treat?
选项
A、Because the economic situation in US has been gloomy.
B、Because holiday spending can stimulate GDP growth.
C、Because American retailers make a quarter of their yearly sales through holiday season.
D、Because retailers can make as much profit as 60% over holiday season.
答案
B
解析
treat指“乐事,有意义的事”,从“the holiday season in western economies seems a treat for those concerned with such vagaries as GDP growth”可知之所以有人认为这些节日是有意义的就是认为它们会刺激消费,从而促进GDP的增长,故选B项。
转载请注明原文地址:http://tihaiku.com/zcyy/4015614.html
相关试题推荐
Economicshaslongbeenknownasthedismalscience.Butisanyeconomistso
Economicshaslongbeenknownasthedismalscience.Butisanyeconomistso
Noteverybreakthroughsoundslikerocketscience.Simplebutnovelideascan
Noteverybreakthroughsoundslikerocketscience.Simplebutnovelideascan
Noteverybreakthroughsoundslikerocketscience.Simplebutnovelideascan
Economicsoftenmissesanimportantelementofinequalitybetweenmalesandf
Economicsoftenmissesanimportantelementofinequalitybetweenmalesandf
Economicsoftenmissesanimportantelementofinequalitybetweenmalesandf
AdamSmithwasthefounderofeconomicsasadistinctfieldofstudy.Hewro
AdamSmithwasthefounderofeconomicsasadistinctfieldofstudy.Hewro
随机试题
Inwesterncountriestoday,moreandmorefoodshaveadditives(添加剂)inthem.Wh
Theoldpaintingwasdamagedinthefloodandhadtobepainstakingly______.A、r
HowtoKeepYourNewYear’sResolutions[A]Abouthalfofall
甲状旁腺功能减退症主要引起A.血清钙、磷降低 B.血清钙、磷升高 C.血清钙
糖尿病合并高血压患者血压控制目标:A.<140/90mmhg B.<130
下列各项中,不符合内部牵制的要求的是()。A、出纳人员管票据 B、出纳人员
根据下列材料回答。2002年中国与世界能源消费结构图 在国际上今
根据材料,下列表述正确的一项是:() A.2005-2012年,浙江省基金
施工方所编制的下列计划都与施工进度有关,但属于项目管理范畴的是()。A.企业年
FIDIC系列合同条件中,采用固定总价方式计价、只有在出现某些特定风险时才能调整
最新回复
(
0
)