"On the nth Day of Christmas, My True Love’s Cost Was x"

It was either this or The Economist on "Is Santa a deadweight loss?".
The Economist didn't have Muppets, decision made.*

From Improbable Research:

Accountants can bring order to otherwise frothy undertakings. An example:

“Cost analysis: the acquisition of the items listed in a popular Christmas song,” Dianne M. Dean, Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 2007, Vol.20(5), p.790-792. The author, in Beechworth, Australia, protects her status in the profession by explaining “A humorous approach is taken”, then gives details:

“Purpose – This paper aims to cost the acquisition of the items listed in a popular Christmas song.
“Findings – It was found that there was a significant increase in costs from 2005 to 2006.”
The song, perhaps familiar to you, includes this passage:
On the twelfth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Twelve drummers drumming,
Eleven pipers piping,
Ten lords a-leaping…

(Thanks to investigator Rodolfo Baggio for bringing this to our attention.)

Also at Improbable Research:

To re-gift, or not to re-gift? This study takes a business-like approach to the question:...

*If you insist, here's the paper ref'd by The Economist:

The Deadweight Loss of Christmas (9 page PDF)

Joel Waldfogel