Deinonychus antirrhopus

I Can't Believe That Was Published...

...in a peer reviewed journal. Not that I think the research was done badly, but because the answer was so damned obvious. Of course, my guess for another person's "optimal gift" is going to a higher probability of being wrong than correct.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the most efficient gifts (those with the smallest deadweight loss) were those from close friends and relations, while non-cash gifts from extended family were the least efficient. As the age difference between giver and recipient grew, so did the inefficiency. All of which suggests what many grandparents know: when buying gifts for someone with largely unknown preferences, the best present is one that is totally flexible (cash) or very flexible (gift vouchers).

Perhaps not surprisingly? I would have guessed that right off the bat. For example, my roommate from college was having a surprise birthday party thrown for him. He loves to read, so the obvious gift is a book. The not so obvious part is which one. Even if I found a book I thought he'd like, there was a good chance he's already read it. Solution: gift card for Borders. This way, he could get the exact book(s) he wants and I don't have to spend 2 hours wandering the bookstore wondering which books he might have read.

Of course, sometimes a gift can be better than simply getting the cash value of the gift itself as the article notes. In fact, I already have a gift in mind for my college roommate; one I'm pretty sure he'll get lots of use out of.