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What Christmas Does (Or Doesn't Do) For the Economy

Is Christmas good for the economy? That’s the conventional thinking, but some economists believe that if Christmas didn’t exist, all of the shopping we do would actually be distributed more evenly throughout the year, and there might not be so much “deadweight loss,” i.e., that ugly sweater from your aunt that gets put in the back of the closet.

Derek Thompson has looked at some of the research and joins Here & Now’s Jeremy Hobson to explain.

  • Read Derek Thompson’s piece “Is Christmas Bad for the Economy?”
  • Guest

  • Derek Thompson, senior editor at The Atlantic. He tweets @DKThomp.
  • Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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