5 ms·

I forget where I read this, but haircut cost can be used as a reasonable reference point for translating old prices into today's dollars. Modern basic haircutti

by mbil 5y ago

I forget where I read this, but haircut cost can be used as a reasonable reference point for translating old prices into today's dollars. Modern basic haircutting is quite similar to what it always has been, and takes about the same amount of time. So saying a haircut costs $50 in a big city now, and it was 2 denarii communes in Ancient Rome: 1 d.c. == $25. Here is general labor data in today's dollars | labor | $USD | d.c. | |:-----------------------------------------------------------------------|:-----|:-----| | brick maker, for every 4 fired bricks and preparation of the clay | 50 | 2 | | brick maker, for every 8 sun dried bricks, and preparation of the clay | 50 | 2 | | clerk (based on specified bath attendant wage) | 625 | 25 | | farm laborer, with maintenance | 625 | 25 | | lime burner, with maintenance | 1250 | 50 | | mule driver, camel driver, with maintenance | 625 | 25 | | sewer cleaner, working a full day, with maintenance | 625 | 25 | | shepherd, with maintenance | 625 | 25 | | water carrier, working a full day, with maintenance | 625 | 25 | | all other general labor | 625 | 25 | I put the whole set in a file here: https://matthewbilyeu.com/what-things-cost-ancient-rome.txt

boomboomsubban 5y ago
I think you're benchmark may be off. Barbers were something often visited daily, primarily shaving beards. Plus, those wages seem to be daily and the idea of a general laborer earning $625 a day is pretty nuts. Even assuming 12 hour days that's $50 an hour.
- mbil 5y ago
  Yeah, a clear direct comparison is elusive and maybe impossible. This Reddit thread [0] talks about the difficulties of converting value. I thought it would be thought provoking to see a rough comparison to today's costs through some frame of reference. Your sibling comment points out some other issues with this approach. [0]: https://old.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/3x0b7o/how_much_would_a_roman_denarius_be_in_usd_today/ https://old.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/3x0b7o/how_m...
chewz 5y ago
> So saying a haircut costs $50 in a big city now The cheapest haircut I had was 1$ in Colombo, Sri Lanka on the street. It was actually pretty decent. You can get a haircut for 3-4$ on the street in some countries in SE Asia. Also in countries with less sophisticated labour market there is a lot more barbers offering haircut and less Apple Stores. Which makes calculations like yours very assumptions dependent. New York is comparable size to Rome (only in 1974 amount of water used by the NY equaled amount of water delivered to Rome by aqueducts) but I think New York has different labour market dynamics. Just think of slaves and plebs on the dole in Rome. Also you have cars and public transport in NY, which affects labour market.
- kamaal 5y ago
  >>You can get a haircut for 3-4$ on the street in some countries in SE Asia. You get one in Bangalore for $2.5, but it means nothing when you measure it in $ terms, people don't exactly earn in dollars in India. They earn in rupees. Arguably its pretty much the same(in terms of affordability) when you look it from that perspective.
- JonnyB 5y ago
  I happend to make bricks in Sri Lanka, if I'd get 50$ for 4 bricks, I'd rent an apartment in Manhattan with my salary :-)

by mbil 5y ago

boomboomsubban 5y ago

I think you're benchmark may be off. Barbers were something often visited daily, primarily shaving beards. Plus, those wages seem to be daily and the idea of a general laborer earning $625 a day is pretty nuts. Even assuming 12 hour days that's $50 an hour.

mbil 5y ago
Yeah, a clear direct comparison is elusive and maybe impossible. This Reddit thread [0] talks about the difficulties of converting value. I thought it would be thought provoking to see a rough comparison to today's costs through some frame of reference. Your sibling comment points out some other issues with this approach. [0]: https://old.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/3x0b7o/how_much_would_a_roman_denarius_be_in_usd_today/ https://old.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/3x0b7o/how_m...

chewz 5y ago

> So saying a haircut costs $50 in a big city now The cheapest haircut I had was 1$ in Colombo, Sri Lanka on the street. It was actually pretty decent. You can get a haircut for 3-4$ on the street in some countries in SE Asia. Also in countries with less sophisticated labour market there is a lot more barbers offering haircut and less Apple Stores. Which makes calculations like yours very assumptions dependent. New York is comparable size to Rome (only in 1974 amount of water used by the NY equaled amount of water delivered to Rome by aqueducts) but I think New York has different labour market dynamics. Just think of slaves and plebs on the dole in Rome. Also you have cars and public transport in NY, which affects labour market.

kamaal 5y ago
>>You can get a haircut for 3-4$ on the street in some countries in SE Asia. You get one in Bangalore for $2.5, but it means nothing when you measure it in $ terms, people don't exactly earn in dollars in India. They earn in rupees. Arguably its pretty much the same(in terms of affordability) when you look it from that perspective.
JonnyB 5y ago
I happend to make bricks in Sri Lanka, if I'd get 50$ for 4 bricks, I'd rent an apartment in Manhattan with my salary :-)