In defense of gift giving

There's a famous idea in economics that shopping for holiday gifts is a waste of time and money — an "orgy of wealth destruction," as the economist Joel Waldfogel once put it. Economic logic says that instead of giving someone a present, you should just give them cash so they can buy themselves what they really want. Last year at Planet Money, we tried to spread that message by commissioning an original song called "Cash is King."

But Planet Money host Jeff Guo believes in the economic virtues of gift giving. On today's show, Jeff tries to win over Planet Money's resident Scrooge, Kenny Malone, by going on a quest to find him the perfect gift. Along the way, they're visited by the spirits of three Nobel prize-winning economic theories that can explain why gift-giving is actually good. And by the end, Kenny's heart may just grow three sizes larger.

Today's show was produced by Willa Rubin, with help from Sam Yellowhorse Kesler and James Sneed. It was edited by Jess Jiang, engineered by Robert Rodriguez, and fact-checked by Sierra Juarez.

Music: "Toy Ballet," "Quirky Christmas," "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" and "Playful Enchantment."

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