Assignment:
Please provide a written response based on the two articles from The Economist. Your response should include the following:
I) Please read the first article entitled "Is Santa a Deadweight Loss?" Upon reading this rather interesting and somewhat irreverent article, please answer the following questions. First, according to the article. when buying a gift, either during Christmas or perhaps for a birthday or other special occasions, what does the gift buyer have to do in order to help ensure a successful gift purchase? Given this, is this "task" typically done well generally speaking, or done badlyi Please explain by citing examples from the article.
Reading on, based upon findings and research, what does the article suggest we do when buying a gift for someone else? Should we attempt to buy a gift, or just give the recipient cash and let them go out and buy their own gift? Please explain.
Furthermore, according to the article, of the non-cash gifts, which group was generally more likely to purchase an "efficient" gift...those that are close friends and relations (i.e., boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife), or those in the extended family (i.e. parents, siblings, uncles, aunts, etc.)? Why do you think this is the case? Please explain.
Finally, recalling our discussion on Utility, in the second to the last paragraph, the article makes the claim that not only does the recipient generally receive "value" for the gift they have received, but the giver also gets some fun out of giving the gift too. Does this mean that the giver also generates some utility from giving the gift? What do you think? please share your own personal experiences regarding this, and how you have felt when you have received a special gift, as well as how you felt when you gave a special gift to someone. Did you generate the same amount of total utility (i.e., happiness or pleasure) from giving as well as receiving? Why do you believe this? Please explain using concepts discussed in this course.
2) Please read the second article entitled "Economics Focus: Chasing the Dream." Upon reading the article, we can begin to see that simply having a higher level of income may not necessarily ensure a higher level of happiness. Indeed, as economies in Europe, Japan, and the United States have become ever more affluent, it appears that people living in these countries, on average, are not any happier than those "poorer folk" who lived back ir the 1950's. How could this be? Please explain by citing several possible solutions discussed in the article itself, as well as providing yoar own insights.
Next, please turn your attention to paragraph 5-7. After reading these three paragraphs, what are your conclusions? Do you think that people in America (some, anyway) are just plain moronic, duped into working longer hours (in part due to the tax codes) while enjoying far fewer days of vacation than the average European, all for the sae of having more money to spend on handsome automobiles, fancy cloths, and opulent homes? Is happiness more than just a bundle of material goodies? Can happiness be derived from more than our assets or net worth? What do you think?
Lastly, why must income be the common denominator to many of our decisions, such as choosing one's career for example (i.e., "Accountants make good money....therefore I will become an accountant, even though I hate accounting!") What do you think? Do you believe that the pursuit (and attainment) of material comforts and material well-being tads to happiness? Please share your thoughts. I suppose we could poll all of the people who live here in lovely Los Altos Hills (one of the wealthiest communities in the Bay Arca) to see if they are happy. Sactly, I would be willing to bet there would be more than a few who are quite miserable. As the article suggests, utility maximization is a very tricky business.
Your written response to both articles combined must be no less than two (2) pages in length and no more than four pages, and must be typed (font size 12 and double-spaced and one-inch margins maximum). Points will be deducted for written responses less than 2 pages and/or do not adhere to the font and margin requirements. Thank you for your cooperation.