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
2025-04-24
33
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。
转载请注明原文地址:https://tihaiku.com/zcyy/4051478.html
相关试题推荐
Economicshaslongbeenknownasthedismalscience.Butisanyeconomistso
Economicshaslongbeenknownasthedismalscience.Butisanyeconomistso
Economicshaslongbeenknownasthedismalscience.Butisanyeconomistso
Ahundredyearsagoitwasassumedandscientifically"proved"byeconomists
Ahundredyearsagoitwasassumedandscientifically"proved"byeconomists
Ahundredyearsagoitwasassumedandscientifically"proved"byeconomists
Ahundredyearsagoitwasassumedandscientifically"proved"byeconomists
Ahundredyearsagoitwasassumedandscientifically"proved"byeconomists
Althougheconomistshavetraditionallyconsideredthedistricttobesolelyana
In1798thepoliticaleconomistMalthuspredictedthatintimemankindwould
随机试题
[originaltext]Goodevening.I’dliketothanktheContinuingEducationDepartme
[originaltext]M:It’sapityHelencouldn’tcometoseeyouoff,Mary.W:Ikno
丙酮酸羧化酶是哪一个代谢途径的关键酶?( )A.糖异生 B.磷酸戊糖途径
对取得统计从业资格的人员实行统计继续教育。( )
下列各项属于商业银行从事的银行账簿中的外币业务活动的有()。A.外币存款
把下面的图形分为两类,使每一类图形都有各自的共同特征或规律,分类正确的一项是:
请回答血海、足三里的定位、归经及操作。(10分)
A.白豆蔻B.苍术C.广藿香D.厚朴E.砂仁治疗夜盲症,宜选用
经皮吸收制剂的类型中不包括()()A.凝胶膏剂 B.充填封闭型 C.骨架扩散
建筑安装工程费按照造价形成可划分成()。A、分部分项工程费 B、措施项目费
最新回复
(
0
)