Scroogenomics

{{Short description|Economics book}}

{{Infobox book

| name = Scroogenomics: Why You Shouldn't Buy Presents for the Holidays

| image = Scroogenomics.jpg

| author = Joel Waldfogel

| country =

| language =

| genre = Nonfiction

| publisher = Princeton University Press

| release_date = 2009

| media_type =

| pages = 173

| isbn = 978-0-69-114264-7

| dewey =

| congress =

| oclc = 310171808}}

Scroogenomics is a non-fiction book written by the economist Joel Waldfogel.Waldfogel holds the Frederick R. Kappel Chair in Applied Economics at Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota. [http://www.carlsonschool.umn.edu/faculty-research/jwaldfog/Joel_Waldfogel.aspx Carlson School: Faculty and Research]

Overview

In his book Waldfogel argues that purchasing gifts for other people is a "terrible way to allocate resources" as a result of gift givers' lack of knowledge of the recipients' true preferences.{{cite web|last=Zasky|first=Jason|title=Scroogenomics|url=http://failuremag.com/feature/article/scroogeonomics/|work=Failure Magazine|accessdate=December 28, 2012}} Waldfogel estimates that approximately $12 billion a year in the U.S. and $25 billion a year worldwide is misallocated in Yuletide giftgiving, which he calls "an orgy of wealth destruction".{{cite news|title=Give gold, not myrrh|newspaper=The Economist|date=December 21, 2009|url=http://www.economist.com/node/15106467|accessdate=December 27, 2012}}{{cite news|last=Hilsenrath|first=Jon|title=Q&A: Scroogenomics Author on the Holidays' 'Orgy of Wealth Destruction'|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2009/10/16/qa-scroogenomics-author-on-the-holidays-orgy-of-wealth-destruction/|accessdate=December 27, 2012|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|date=October 16, 2009}}{{cite news|last=Chakrabortty|first=Aditya|title=Brain food: the problem with Scroogenomics|url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2009/dec/01/brain-food-problem-with-scroogenomics|accessdate=December 27, 2012|newspaper=The Guardian|date=November 30, 2009}}

See also

References

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