I read and blather about "The Economics of the Gift", an essay I wrote for an interdisciplinary conference and book on "Gift Giving and the 'Embedded Economy' in the ancient world".

Part of a planned multi-part series on "reading old stuff I wrote and seeing how much I cringe".

Full essay is HERE
Ties in with

- Profusion data podcast Christmassy special

- EA forum post: seeing the effects of your donation

From the essay abstract:
This essay broadly considers gifts, giving, and gift economies, modern and pre-modern, from a mainstream (and behavioural) economics perspective. I present a selective survey of the literature focusing on six key points:

1. Commercial transactions sustained by reputation are not easily distinguishable from gift exchange economies;

2. Gift-giving allows the giver to accumulate goods that cannot be purchased commercially;

3. When the giver retains some use, experience, or control over the gift, she shares in the consumption of it;

4. Considering behavioural issues such as regret aversion, gift-giving may offer overlooked efficiencies that may balance out the deadweight losses from ‘inadequate gifts’;

5. Aggregate (anonymous) giving can be an important signal of overall group identity and character;

6. Historical modes of ‘giving under pressure’ offer insights for modern public policy and philanthropy