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Christmas Gifts: Anticipated Spending For 2011

Christmas gifts Anticipated personal spending for 2011", S 90 Luxembourg O 80 70 60 United States 50 Netherlands Switzerland France Finland 40 Germany Belgium Britain Ireland 30 Italy Spain PO Portugal Slovakia Greece Poland 20 South Africa Russia Czech Republic 10 Ukraine O 0- 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 Anticipated personal spending on Christmas gifts, 2011", S Sources: IMF; Gallup; Deloitte; HSBC *September and November surveys 1Purchasing-power parity GDP per person, $'000 PPPT, 2011 forecast

Christmas Gifts: Anticipated Spending For 2011

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WHEN it became an independent nation in the seventeenth century, the Netherlands pioneered what today would be called austerity chic: think of the plain interiors painted by Vermeer or ruddy-faced mer... chants in their black smocks by Frans Hals. Today's chart, which shows a correlation between Christmas spending (culled from various sources) and wealth (in purchasing-power parity terms), suggests that the disapproval of those Amsterdam merchants still has some sway over their descendants. Lightly-taxed Luxemborgers, by contrast, are exceedingly generous outliers. Footloose readers would be well advised to head there for December 25th.

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The Economist