What is Digg?40 Comments
- playerslight, on 10/12/2007, -2/+13"It's not the dead that concern me about Halloween. And it is not the impact of all that sugar on the weight of our kids. No, it's the dead-weight loss, or pointless lost utility of the entire enterprise. That likely has a dollar value that exceeds $1.5 billion annually. American citizens squander more than a billion and a half dollars a year on an economically inefficient holiday."
Thank you, Mr. Bassett, for showing us that economists too can have a sense of humour.
Not a well developed sense, mind you, but at least the attempt was there. - headzoo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10I dunno, I spent about $50 on candy, and the kids wiped me out in about an hour. Some of the kids coming to my door had bags full of more candy than the $50 in candy I bought would fill up.
So I'd say your average trick or treater is pulling in more than $14 in candy. - Anpheus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7You'd have to be pretty swift, in order to.
- adidax, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5I think his suggestions were a Modest Proposal about what to do with the inefficient spending of Halloween budgets.
(maybe someone will catch that) - jackminardi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Actually, I do know what I am talking about
According to your logic, birthday parties are a economists nightmare, fireworks are an economists nightmare, any type of free social gathering is an economists nightmare.
As humans we enjoy certain things and not others. We are willing to pay, or work for these enjoyable things. Kids obviously ENJOY receiving candy, whether they eat it or not, or they would not waste their time getting it. Maybe they like spending time with their friends, maybe they like showing off the costume they worked on, maybe, just maybe they actually eat the Charleston Chews (Which plenty of people obviously like, or else they would not be sold - Even you can no argue with that logic)
If you really are an economist you must know that no voluntary transaction takes place where both parties do not benefit. Noone is forced into going out on holloween, so they must all be voluntarily doing it, which means, wait for it, they BENEFIT!
Now could you please explain to me how this is hurting our economy? - CamZak, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6Okay...time for me to point out people are being stupid...
The population of the US is 300,000,000, now lets just say for the sake of argument that half of those people are kids receiving candy.
$2,100,000,000/150,000,000 kids=$14 candy per kid.
Real life there's probably maybe 100,000,000 kids begging for candy...I don't think kids are litterally eating 2 billion dollars worth of candy.
Most people I know spend maybe $10 total on all the candy they pass out, there's no way that kids get that much in candy. Unless the number of people passing out candy surpasses the factor of kids trick-or-treating by a factor of .5. Most of the money is spent on costumes and decorations, not candy. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5@canadianrockstr
You know, I too took an economics course, and I'd rank it right up there with Scientology for the way it stirs up your brain. It takes about six months for it to wear off. Then people are people again and not the Skinner-box, button-pressing, lab-rat automatons that all economic theory makes them out to be.
For the two pounds bags of candy we got to hand out (medium-quality, since if we have it left over we'll end up eating it ourselves, and we want some quality ourselves) we got total of six pounds and a wide variety of medium to high-quality candy - about two pounds of it chocolate! Reflect that we had miserable weather here for Beggar's Night, and my kids covered six blocks for a full two hours. Many more people stayed home to hand it out, fewer trick-or-treaters, every other house was saying "take a bunch, you're only the second kid I've seen tonight!" And we still have over half of our hand-out supply left (yes, a member of the household stayed home to hand out as well). Classic glut of supply with very little demand. But how would your formulas have predicted this?
Economists need to learn that the equations on their chalkboards are not capable of expressing reality, just like mere program code is not capable of imbuing a computer with true human intelligence. But don't feel like the Lone Ranger; there are perfectly smart CS students out there who still think they're just one Markov chain away from inventing the HAL 9000. I imagine economists must find the same pipe dreams irresistable.
Now quit trying to mess up my sugar buzz. - CapeKid, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5Am I the only one that enjoys Charleston Chews?
Maybe I should start a website so people can donate chews to the people who like them.
Chews for Charity? - cphuntington97, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2You're forgetting how much candy people eat themselves when it's sitting around all the time.
No joke, we are already on our second batch of halloween candy, since we eat all the time .... - phatalbert, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Terrible terrible joke.
- jmchez, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Look, if your kids go trick or treating early, they can come back with a whole lot of free bad candy that you can give out later that night. Make sure to keep the best.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2to add to jackminardi's last comment:
A quaint little tradition to Beggar's Night in these local parts, which was new to me before but now I think it's neat, is that the kids don't just get candy for nothing: they have to do some kind of performance. Usually this is in the form of a simple joke, but can be anything from a magic trick to a cool feature of their costume.
So there you have it, even the ones handing out candy get a benefit. Particularly the older folks enjoy this. - MatttK, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2There's a reason they invented TRADING!! If you get candy you don't like, trade it to your brother for candy you DO like!! Ah.. Halloween.. those were the days.
- tavisjohn, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2What about the Costumes, and decorations, and spooky sounds CD's, and haunted yard props, and all the other NON CANDY stuff? That probably also ends up in that 2+ billion total.
And even if the total is ALL CANDY, then we are missing ONE BIG thing.... How much of that candy is tossed out? Either never get's handed out and goes bad, or is not what the kid want's to eat and is tossed... - Cornloaf, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Tag me in Cornerback42!
Halloween is #6 on the list in the US for retail sales.
Halloween generates an estimated $5 billion a year in retail sales in the U.S., with some stores stocking aisles of Halloween-related merchandise as early as July. The National Retail Federation (NRF) estimates that nearly two-thirds of Americans now celebrate Halloween in a manner that involves retail purchases, spending an average of $60 each — a third of that amoung going towards the purchase of all-important candy. - cornerback42, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2@Camzak
Okay time for me to point out that people don't check facts before they call everyone stupid.
There are about (US Census Bureau) 82,473,385 "kids" aged 5-24 (what you would call the target ages of the majority of trick or treater's)
(2.1 x 10^9) / 82,473,385 = $25.46 per kid
And it could easily be kids eating/recieving $25.46 of candy themselves. Most people would agree that buying 25 dollars worth of candy to pass out seems right on target. Take for instance on Candywarehouse.com a bag of 70ct assorted M&M's runs $12.50 buy 2 bags enough for 140 or so kids and that's $25. I don't get how your saying there's no way kids could (not eat) but receive that much candy.
Besides the article specifically said "National Confectioners Association estimates that 2005 Halloween sales were $2.1 billion" Last I checked the NCA didn't include sales of costumes, yard decorations and the like.
Before you go calling people stupid you may want to fact check first.
National Confectioners Association Site:
http://www.ecandy.com/
Example of Unit Price of Candy
http://www.candywarehouse.com/funsizemms.html
US Census Bureau
http://www.census.gov/popest/national/asrh/NC-EST2005-sa.html - mikeon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I've never trick or treated before, but is it normal for kids to have their parents drive them from block to block looking for houses with lights on having the kids go get the candy. Then get back into the car and go to the next house?
- chapium, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1This assumes that the utility is in the consumption of the good and not the act of giving it.
- jackminardi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1you have never trick-or-treated before? why?
- jackminardi, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4This is the stupidest article and economist I have ever seen.
If people are spending money it is good for the economy. Who decides what is beneficial to society anyway? I cannot believe some of you are actually believing this. - nene7070, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1my dad works at the company that makes those :) hehe
- Lexomatic, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1It's only bad economics if you didn't sell off your pumpkin futures.
- omaryak, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1From the lost utility on inefficient Halloween candy sales, maybe we could solve world hunger.
- etnu, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0This article completely ignores the benefits to the economy that scaring off the demons, ghosts, and zombies has. Just imagine the financial consequences of allowing the dead to walk the earth.
Don't believe me? Look at this flagrant disregard for private property by the living dead:
http://www.stomptokyo.com/scott/blog/C964161838/E1507176555/Media/FreeSnap001.jpg
You think race riots are bad? Just imagine the situation when these lifeless sacks of flesh start feeding off the fat of the land. - coheedcollapse, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2I like all candy. Only thing I didn't like in my bag were pennies (damn old ladies). ***** picky kids don't know what it's like being too old to trick-or-treat without getting weird stares.
- charlie55, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1you are not the only person who was forced to read in middle school.
- LR2_, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I agree, it is not all candy. I am sure this figure includes costumes, haunted house tickets and yard decorations as well.
- djepik, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3I was just going to say the same thing! They're great!
- slushpuppie, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2 Indeed, brother.
They are my all time favorite candy. I was so appalled by his comments that I was forced to email him regarding it (urging him, much like the wrapper, to "try them frozen!")
Chews for Chartiy, or CfC, FtW or, For the Win.
(In Soviet Russia, Charleston Chews you!) - Nikx, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3I have to admit I didn't read the whole thing. Not after it started knocking the Charleston Chew. It's easily one of my favorite candies.
- playerslight, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0@canadianrockstr:
Don't you find the whole idea of social welfare a little...you know...untenable? I mean, it's hard enough to measure what one single individual wants in any quantifiable way. How do you propose to aggregate that and determine what society wants?
Just a question. I mean, with your advanced training in economics I'm sure you have an answer right at the tip of your tongue, and would be more than willing to share it with us, the great unwashed. But no using Roy's identity. That's cheating. - playerslight, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Well, after reading through this thread I take it back. While I don't think his satire was quite at *that* level, the fact that so many diggers in this thread missed it would indicate that his sense of humour was more well-developed than I thought. Honestly, who has time to read something that old when MTV is on?
(canadianrockstr, I'm looking at you) - Silencer7, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1I think he got April Fool's Day and Halloween confused. Well, at least that *****'ll never have to complain about getting a present from me.
- nene7070, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1whoops wrong thread
- canadianrockstr, on 10/12/2007, -7/+4Hey dorks, none of you understand economics! So stop talking aboiut what you don't know!
I'm a fourth year student at the University of Ottawa. I'm taking economics and math. Listen the article is very good because it addresses the fact that Halloween is EXTREMELY inefficient when it comes to maximizing social welfare (go read a book).
He talks when you buy candy to give out you think about your own interests (what you like) or what is cheapest. And if we give out these things we give to kids it is VERY likely that they won't like it nearly as much as you do, for those thinking in their own self-interest. Or for those who go the cheap route, well you KNOW those kids will hate that *****.
His conclusion is that we can maximize social welfare by giving money to the kids(about the amount that they would spend on candy) so that they can go pick out candy that they would like. Rather then try and pick out what they would like...
Therefore HALLOWEEN IS AN ECONOMISTS NIGHTMARE - elroy, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1The author is a judgmental ***** who has a serious bias against the Charleston Chew. I've bought many, and did I mention this author is a *****?
- WormBoy, on 10/12/2007, -6/+2Its the fact that what you're spending your money on is not aiding the economy, somethings are good, and some are not, its as simple as that.
- johnnyrotten, on 10/12/2007, -4/+0I like most candy (and if you met me, it would be obvious), but there is a bit of a problem that needs to be addressed. Some candy is being made and packaged together months in advance, and it can be ruined by the time people get it. I recently bought a bag of mixed candy, and the chocolate was almost inedible because it was mixed with sour fruit candy and it took on the taste. Yuck!
- Bob042, on 10/12/2007, -9/+2Spending money is bad for the economy? You learn something every day...
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