[Culturechat] Money over the area

Mon, 1 Sep 2003 08:52:48 EDT

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In a message dated 9/1/2003 5:26:40 AM Central Daylight Time, 
gigli.saw@dplanet.ch writes:

> Why a Big Mac? Because it is sold 
> around the world and a comparison is much easier than a "basket of 
> goods" in which there are itens not found locally in all countries

The Big Mac has been used as the standard in a number of surveys. The 
original, I believe, was done by the Federal Reserve Bank in St Louis. One example 
is at <A HREF="http://economics.uchicago.edu/download/bigmac.pdf">http://economics.uchicago.edu/download/bigmac.pdf</A> -- a survey done by 
the management consulting firm McKinsey & Company.

In Africa a similar survey has been done with the benchmark being the price 
of a Tusker beer in Nairobi.

Certainly it is meaningless to say "The average wage in XXXX is YY dollars" 
without quantifying the equivalent purchasing power of that dollar.  Or better 
yet, the hours worked by, say a school teacher or an electrician, to earn 
enough to buy a pair of shoes, or indeed a Big Mac or a Tusker beer.

Irv Smith

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<HTML>In a message dated 9/1/2003 5:26:40 AM Central Dayli=
ght Time, gigli.saw@dplanet.ch writes: 
 
<BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=3DCITE style=3D"BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT=
: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">Why a Big Mac? Because it is so=
ld 
around the world and a comparison is much easier than a "basket of 
goods" in which there are itens not found locally in all countries</BLOCKQUO=
TE> 
 
The Big Mac has been us=
ed as the standard in a number of surveys.&nbsp; The original, I believe, wa=
s done by the Federal Reserve Bank in St Louis.&nbsp; One example is at <A H=
REF=3D"http://economics.uchicago.edu/download/bigmac.pdf">http://economics.u=
chicago.edu/download/bigmac.pdf</A>&nbsp; -- a survey done by the management=
 consulting firm McKinsey &amp; Company. 
 
In Africa a similar survey has been done with the benchmark being the price=20=
of a Tusker beer in Nairobi. 
 
Certainly it is meaningless to say "The average wage in XXXX is YY dollars"=20=
without quantifying the equivalent purchasing power of that dollar.&nbsp; Or=
 better yet, the hours worked by, say a school teacher or an electrician, to=
 earn enough to buy a pair of shoes, or indeed a Big Mac or a Tusker beer.<B=
R>
 
Irv Smith</HTML>

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