In a world reshaped by globalization and disruptive technologies, university students must prepare for workplace challenges new to their generation. Their future colleagues may reside around the world and use different cultural and workplace practices; subject-matter knowledge may quickly become outdated.
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When Parag Waknis lived in the United States, he would give friends and colleagues the same gift every year: a voucher. Often derided for their lack of originality and thoughtfulness, these much-maligned rectangles of plastic are some economists’ perfect gift: something that technically fulfills the criteria of a present while also giving the recipient the freedom to choose their own gift. “I was completely convinced that cash was the way to go,” Waknis says.
After moving to India in 2018 to become an associate professor of economics at Ambedkar University Delhi, Waknis found himself under pressure to give gifts that show how well he knows the recipient. His carefree days of doling out gift cards no matter the occasion are increasingly a thing of the past. Yet Waknis can’t shake the thought that there is a glaring economic flaw with gift giving. Sometimes, recipients just don’t like what they get.