Dear Economist
Dear Economist,
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How many gifts should I register on my wedding list to optimise my total utility?
Claire Song, via e-mail
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Dear Claire,
The wedding list reflects a rare piece of honesty in our social dealings: the admission that you do not expect your guests to choose particularly apt gifts. If only we could adopt the same candour when it comes to Christmas and birthdays the world would surely be a better place.
Nevertheless, the wedding list remains fraught with potential inefficiencies and you have evidently been thinking about that. If the list is too expansive you risk guests choosing the least preferred options: you will get the frilly lavatory roll holders while the quality saucepan set will go unpurchased. (I was married not so very long ago - I feel your pain.)
On the other hand, if the wedding list is too small you may find that the gifts run out and the guests decide to pick something a bit more “original” - obviously a disaster. Equally bad, you may find that willing guests don’t buy a gift at all.
The solution is a little labour-intensive but probably worth the effort. You need to release your wedding list in several tranches. Start with a selection of high-priority stuff and keep an eye on progress. When the choice is starting to wear a little thin, add the B-list gifts. If they, too, start to be snapped up, then unveil the C-list. Modern technology makes this fairly easy to do.
Of course, this is still a hassle. For my own wedding I planned to dispense with the gift list and instead charge for admission. That seemed much simpler all round, but my fiancee vetoed the idea.
I am not sure why.
结婚礼单怎么选？
亲
爱的经济学家：
我应当在结婚礼单上列出多少礼物，才能将总效用最大化？
克莱尔?宋(Claire Song)，通过电子邮件发出
亲爱的克莱尔：
结婚礼单*反映了我们社会交往中难得一见的诚实：你得承认，你不希望客人挑选特别恰当的礼物。要是在圣诞和生日**时，我们也能采取同样的直率态度，世界肯定会更加美好。
不过，礼单上仍有很多可能你不太需要的东西，你显然一直在考虑这个问题。如果礼单上的东西涉及面过宽，客人就可能选择你最不希望他们买的礼物：你会得到褶边卫生间卷纸架，而一套高品质的平底锅却没有人买。(我刚结婚不久，能体会到你的痛苦。)
另一方面，如果礼单上的东西太少，你会发现礼物全被人选了，于是客人们决定挑些“新颖”点的东西，这显然是场灾难。同样糟糕的是，你可能会发现，愿意买礼物的客人根本没买礼物。
解决方案需要花点功夫，但或许值得一试。你需要把结婚礼单分几批公布。开始是想优先要的一组礼品，并注意进展。当礼品选择开始减少一些时，加入第二部分礼单。如果第二部分也都被客人选得所剩无几，再拿出第三部分礼单。有现代科技的帮忙，这项工作相当轻松。
当然，这仍然是个麻烦。在我自己的婚礼上，我曾计划干脆省了礼单，代之以收取参加婚礼费。整件事情似乎简单了许多，但我未婚妻否决了这个想法。
我搞不清是为什么。
*西方人在结婚前会准备一个清单，上书新人所需的礼物，然后发给所有将要参加婚礼的亲朋好友。他们会购买其中的1项或几项，作为对新人的祝福。
目前流行的是新人在一个百货公司中选择一系列礼物，然后将清单放在网上，供客人挑选。
**西方人在过圣诞和生日时，会互赠礼物，但是对方不会直接告知要什么，所以在购买礼物时需要费一番心思。
