Gifts for economists, 2010

It’s that time of the year where I try to answer the following question: what would you get an economist?

There are plenty of good ideas in my previous guides, so you may want to get started there:

–Gifts for economists, 2008

–Gifts for economists, 2009

This year’s list adds on a few more economics related gifts.

So without further ado, here is the 2010 version of gifts for economists.

For the card player:

• Poker dealer button with timer
  I love this idea of putting a timer on the dealer button. This allows everyone to know how much time is left before blinds go up.
• Alternate suggestion: for bigger games, you might want a larger display like this poker home tournament timer

For the planner:

• The Economist wall calendar 2011
  This is a perfect accessory to put up around the home or in the office. The monthly images are drawn by by Kevin Kallaugher (“KAL”), The Economist’s editorial cartoonist since 1978. I received the calendar and the promo material said you can find the calendar in Barnes & Nobles and Borders stores online, from the Economist website, via telephone (800-456-6086), and in Canada’s Chapter stores. The calendar retails for $14.99 – $16.99 plus shipping and handling.

For the board game player:

• Monopoly
  This is a classic board games and definitely brings about important economic concepts. I still love the classic version of the game with paper money and property prices in the hundreds. There is a new version that uses an electronic banking system – called plainly Monopoly Electronic Banking Edition which could be useful to prevent corrupt bankers (though I always felt stealing was an interesting element in the classic game). There is also a modern version known as Monopoly Revolution which features a circular board. It looks good though personally I’m sticking with the classic edition.

For the general read:

• SuperFreakonomics
  I got around to this book during the year and I’m still going through it. While it’s not as good as the Freakonomics (unfair, as that’s a high standard), it is definitely still worth a read and by now the price is very affordable at $18 for the hardcover.

For the movie enthusiast:

• The Informant! (Blu-ray, DVD)
  This is an interesting comedy starring Matt Damon. The plot centers around a whistle-blower concerning price fixing in agri-business, and this is based on the true story of lysine price fixing.

For the TV watcher:

• Modern Family Season One (Blu-ray, DVD)
  This is a personal preference, but I did enjoy how the characters got into amusing binds and had to think of strategy to get out of them.

For someone that likes cool t-shirts, mugs, etc.

• Economists Do It With Models merchandise
  The logo for the site EDIWM is very cool–a graph in the shape of a woman–and you can get this logo on tons of items like t-shirts, mugs, hats, or on a bumper sticker. I’m sure if you sport one of these items it would definitely be a conversation starter in the office or at a cocktail hour.

For a last minute gift:

• Amazon.com gift card
  I’ve mentioned this in years past: this is a gift that is pretty close to cash and reasonable for pretty much everyone. You can send it in the mail with free one-day shipping (crazy!), or as a last minute gift, you can send the gift card to a friend’s Facebook account.

I need your help: what gifts did I miss?

I’m sure there are good ideas I missed. Please add your economic themed suggestions in the comments below.