How much should I put into angpows?

Chinese New Year is coming around again - the Year of the Rat arrives on 7 February - and this time I am faced with a new puzzle. Since I'm married now, I have to hand out red packets (angpows to regular recipients), which means I am now a net donor rather than a net recipient. The question is, how much should I put into angpows?

Or, if one inverts the question, why do people give angpows in the first place? Sure it's nice to receive angpows, but the custom would never have evolved unless the giver did not reap some benefit, even if said benefit is intangible. As far as I can tell, there are a few possible reasons:

• Signalling one's wealth. This is quite important to save face - Chinese culture seems to have an obsession with appearing prosperous, even if the creditors are at the door. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, in Chinese society.
• Genuine altruism. For many children a few decades ago, the money received at Chinese New Year represents a whole year's worth of pocket money. Nowadays with inflation and different levels of consumer spending this is no longer the case of course, but that simply means that one needs to give larger angpows...
• Making sweet nothings mean something. If one just wishes relatives and friends Happy New Year, that can easily be insincere. Adding some money actually reinforces the greeting and says "Hey! I really feel you deserve a Happy New Year, to the extent I'll fund some of your happiness!"
• Signalling respect, or the quid pro quo. Giving money to people who, or are connected to people who, have done something for you. It's a simple thank you gesture, although in Chinese culture, money doesn't quite repay favours - it's just an interest payment.

Right, that seems to be enough. There's still one constraint though - because people do compare what they get, one can't tailor the angpow to the person. People of the same degree of connection are supposed to get the same amount - i.e. all siblings get the same amounts, all friends of equal closeness get the same amounts etc etc. So, depending on this constraint and the signal I want to send, it gets complicated. Examples of the questions I would like to answer are: Should I give my sister, the Squeaky One, less because she doesn't need the spending money? If I were to give my boss's children angpows, do I give them very little to signal that I need a raise? Should I give younger relatives in school more money according to a sliding scale depending on how many years they have left till they start working? And so on.

Clearly, the signal is more important than the money. Even more important, the first year's signals set precedent for future years. The strongest signalling power I have is now. I will have to think on this - thank goodness I paid attention to the lecture on Spence in university. And I'm not posting conclusions on the blog either - the power of signalling improves when you don't pre-signal, and you keep your signals secret.