Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

The Big Mac index: Our interactive currency comparison tool

economist.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

71–80 of 192 posts

Re: The Big Mac index: Our interactive currency comparison tool

#71

Post by samatman »

chucksta wrote: post #57
eertami wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the biggest flaw is that the Big Mac you are served in Switzerland is not really the same Big Mac you are served in the US. It's a cute form of comparison but indeed should not be used as a policy tool.

I actually eat McD's specifically at least once while traveling internationally to see how much it changes. Anecdotal but its been my experience the core items taste and appear strikingly similar everywhere, and that's ~10 data points across the world.

Did you happen to sample Japan?

I ask because I didn't get around to it; there's just too much good food in Japan and I wasn't there long enough.

But I did have a Wendy's burger, and I can tell you: it's not the same burger you get in the States. It's much better. For a given ingredient, it will be inadequate in the US, in Japan, they are all food, like you might get from a bistro.

That made me curious about McDs, but not curious enough to blow an entire precious meal on it.

Re: The Big Mac index: Our interactive currency comparison tool

#72

Post by nojito »

JohnJamesRambo wrote: post #27

Thought it was going to be this one, which I enjoy using a lot and find useful for getting the big picture. https://inflationchart.com/cpi-in-bigmac https://inflationchart.com/spx-in-bigmac In the 70s you could work minimum wage for an hour and afford three Big Macs. Now you have to work almost an hour to afford one Big Mac.: https://inflationchart.com/minwage-in-bigmac

That entire website is a staple of bad economics.

The charts you linked are beyond meaningless.

Re: The Big Mac index: Our interactive currency comparison tool

#73

Post by danuker »

genericacct wrote: post #33

I was thinking about the index a few days ago, I'd like to see what it looks like using the price of aspirin instead of a burger.

Here is the most specific I could find: "non-prescription drugs": https://www.statista.com/statistics/187253/us-consumer-price...

Re: The Big Mac index: Our interactive currency comparison tool

#74

Post by selectodude »

samatman wrote: post #71
chucksta wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I actually eat McD's specifically at least once while traveling internationally to see how much it changes. Anecdotal but its been my experience the core items taste and appear strikingly similar everywhere, and that's ~10 data points across the world.

Did you happen to sample Japan? I ask because I didn't get around to it; there's just too much good food in Japan and I wasn't there long enough. But I did have a Wendy's burger, and I can tell you: it's not the same burger you get in the States. It's much better. For a given ingredient, it will be inadequate in the US, in Japan, they are all food, like you might get from a bistro. That made me curious about McDs, bu…

I've had a Big Mac in Japan. Like GP, I too have tried a Big Mac in probably a dozen different countries because I'm a strange dude who loves traveling and Big Macs. It was a little smaller and modified for local tastes (more spice, less special sauce) but overall pretty much the same.

Re: The Big Mac index: Our interactive currency comparison tool

#75

Post by didgeoridoo »

odonnellryan wrote: post #64
legitster wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's worth pointing out that lots of countries don't even have minimum wage laws. It doesn't mean people there make $0 an hour.

Those countries are either very strong union countries or countries that have lower standards of living.

Or have very high labor productivity and a constrained labor supply. Switzerland comes to mind.

Re: The Big Mac index: Our interactive currency comparison tool

#76

Post by muh_gradle »

jstx1 wrote: post #22
aphroz wrote: post #18

It's maybe 20% more expensive in Switzerland but it tastes better.

US vs UK McDonald's comparison - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMaW6TamNAc The differences in the ingredients lists are hilarious (oh and the portion size difference for the drinks).

Wow this was insane. Having lived in both the UK and US, I always felt that there was a difference in portion size. But it's pretty bonkers to see the comparison before me like this.

Re: The Big Mac index: Our interactive currency comparison tool

#77

Post by Tsiklon »

kingcharles wrote: post #68

My Qatari girlfriend to me the other day: "I just found out you can get a Big Mac with BEEF in it! What sort of weird shit is that?" All she has ever eaten: https://www.mcdonalds.com/qa/en-qa/product/chicken-mac.html

I was in McDonald’s yesterday in the UK and saw this was a product here now. I thought it was a new product hah, I hadn’t even considered it would be more readily available elsewhere

Re: The Big Mac index: Our interactive currency comparison tool

#78

Post by dripton »

eru wrote: post #19
mgkimsal wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are they not letting people inside? a couple around me still seem to be 'drive through only', which accounts for 'line of cars' I see, which... just seems like it's people sitting around wasting more gas idling. Maybe some McDonalds will convert to a 'drive-in' style, like sonic, with food runners...

Where I live, there was a brief period in 2020 when they didn't let people inside McDonald's, but otherwise they have always allowed dine-in. (However, I live in Singapore.)

Some fast-food places in the US went drive-through-only in 2020 and are still that way. I think if you're in the kind of rural or suburban place where almost everyone drives almost everywhere, then the drive-through does the majority of fast food business anyway, and many people who would have gone inside will switch to the drive-through rather than not buying your food, so the cost savings from not having to hire more staff to maintain the dining room might make up for the lost sales. Obviously in an urban area that gets a lot of foot traffic, this would not be the case.

Re: The Big Mac index: Our interactive currency comparison tool

#79

Post by jtmarl1n »

samatman wrote: post #71
chucksta wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I actually eat McD's specifically at least once while traveling internationally to see how much it changes. Anecdotal but its been my experience the core items taste and appear strikingly similar everywhere, and that's ~10 data points across the world.

Did you happen to sample Japan? I ask because I didn't get around to it; there's just too much good food in Japan and I wasn't there long enough. But I did have a Wendy's burger, and I can tell you: it's not the same burger you get in the States. It's much better. For a given ingredient, it will be inadequate in the US, in Japan, they are all food, like you might get from a bistro. That made me curious about McDs, bu…

FWIW, I had a short layover in Japan in 2017 and had the McNuggets & fries at the airport. They were identical. The biggest difference was the size of the drink that came with the meal.

Re: The Big Mac index: Our interactive currency comparison tool

#80

Post by adventured »

legitster wrote: post #62
adventured wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What percentage of the labor force earned the minimum wage in the 1970s versus today? Today it's less than 1%. More realistically the new minimum wage in the US is ~$13-$15 per hour, which you can earn from Walmart, Target, Amazon, Walgreens, CVS, Best Buy and most of the rest. They can't get enough labor and will hire almost anyone that walks in the door. These days you can trivially earn $13-$15 / hour to start, wo…

It's worth pointing out that lots of countries don't even have minimum wage laws. It doesn't mean people there make $0 an hour.

I'm not sure what your point is. You've invented a premise I didn't suggest, about the lack of minimum wage laws and $0 / hr.

If someone is going to reference the US minimum wage, pretending that it matters for the Big Mac context, then it's quite relevant what percentage of the labor force is actually earning the minimum wage. Today that number is exceptionally low and it's trivial for most people in the bottom labor tier to earn far more than minimum wage.

About the only places still commonly paying minimum wage, are small mom & pop businesses in the middle of nowhere (ie places entirely devoid of competition from the previously mentioned big businesses). Independent convenience stores run by Joe and Susie Shop Owner in Buckhannon West Virginia, jobs held by local teenagers that can't drive 60 minutes to the nearest Walmart (except of course even Buckhannon has a Walmart Supercenter; a town in the middle of nowhere with 5,000 people).

The biggest entry-level US employers - which hoover up labor anywhere they can get it - are all paying far more than the minimum wage (along with other now standard benefits like health insurance, which is very expensive and not included in the pay figures).

Post reply on HN