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The Big Mac index: Our interactive currency comparison tool

economist.com

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

#81

Post by [deleted] »

IncRnd wrote: post #61
petercooper wrote: post #14

I don't see how this really works any more because a Big Mac is different in different countries. It's not an "identical" product being compared. You can use McDonald's own local nutrition calculators to confirm this. A Big Mac in the US is 550 calories, yet 508 calories in the UK (522 in Russia and a mere 498 in Switzerland, for comparison). Is it factored into the index that British fast food fans are getting 7.6%…

From actually reading the article: Burgernomics was never intended as a precise gauge of currency misalignment, merely a tool to make exchange-rate theory more digestible. Yet the Big Mac index has become a global standard, included in several economic textbooks and the subject of dozens of academic studies. For those who take their fast food more seriously, we also calculate a gourmet version of the index.

[deleted]

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

#82

Post by rootusrootus »

adventured wrote: post #54
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

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…

Our local fast food joints in Portland are also offering 14-15 an hour to start, now. See advertisements at the drive-thru window all the time.

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

#83

Post by JohnJamesRambo »

adventured wrote: post #54
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

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…

Did people in the 70s really make $3 an hour?

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

#84

Post by throw3838 »

probably_wrong wrote: post #2

I used this index two days ago: my siblings and I want to buy a present as a group, but we are split across multiple countries and it wasn't clear how to make a fair split. We ended up agreeing that everyone would contribute their local equivalent of ~7.3 Big Macs. The only minor correction needed was that the index lists the official dollar exchange price for some currencies while the real price is not even close to…

Not completely fair . In some countries Mcdonald is expensive hipster place (Japan, central europe).

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

#85

Post by detaro »

throw3838 wrote: post #84
probably_wrong wrote: post #2

I used this index two days ago: my siblings and I want to buy a present as a group, but we are split across multiple countries and it wasn't clear how to make a fair split. We ended up agreeing that everyone would contribute their local equivalent of ~7.3 Big Macs. The only minor correction needed was that the index lists the official dollar exchange price for some currencies while the real price is not even close to…

Not completely fair . In some countries Mcdonald is expensive hipster place (Japan, central europe).

Where in Europe is McDonalds a "hipster place"?

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

#86

Post by forinti »

One caveat about this index is that is does not consider the fact that Macdonald's has different types of customers in different countries.

In rich countries, it targets lower income strata.

In the third world, it targets middle and upper middle class. You can get much cheaper local food (and probably more nutritious food) on the streets.

Therefore, Macdonald's is relatively more expensive in poorer countries.

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

#87

Post by JohnJamesRambo »

serverholic wrote: post #58
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

Regarding that last chart, I changed it to "US Income" and got a different story. It looks like US Income has largely kept pace with the big mac.

https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2020/01/09/trends-...

US income hasn’t increased equally though. The rich could already afford a Big Mac.

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

#88

Post by chucksta »

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…

Yeah I went out of my way the last day there, I almost missed it for the same reason. It's pretty amazing how consistent it is

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

#89

Post by yokoprime »

detaro wrote: post #85
throw3838 wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not completely fair . In some countries Mcdonald is expensive hipster place (Japan, central europe).

Where in Europe is McDonalds a "hipster place"?

Apparently "central europe". In western and northern europe its certainly not a hipster placer.

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

#90

Post by chucksta »

selectodude wrote: post #74
samatman wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I like checking out grocery stores too, I find both are a good comparison for what normal life is like
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