5 ms·
Spain is able to build railroads and subways for only 1/10 as much as in the US. France for 1/5. Neither of those are low-wage countries. Regulatory culture
by Symmetry 12y ago
Spain is able to build railroads and subways for only 1/10 as much as in the US. France for 1/5. Neither of those are low-wage countries.
Regulatory culture is a lot more important than wages.
- josefresco 12y agohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_average_wage http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_average_wa... Spain and France are #19 and #20 respectively. Relative to the US these are "low wage" countries. Compared however to China, they are not.
- aidenn0 12y agoAverage is a bad choice for comparing labor costs, as it is distorted by the high earners. Median is a much better choice, and it's $30,932 in US and $29,636 in France: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Median_household_income http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Median_household_income
- nickff 12y agoIf you are going to use household incomes to compare between countries, you should also give some thought to the differences between household structures. I am not sure what difference it would make in this case, but I have seen it make a big difference in other analyses.
- aidenn0 12y agoOh I agree, but I couldn't find median individual income.
- josefresco 12y agoGood point. Using median income as the measure, France compares closely with the US, while Spain improves but is still ~50% of the US value. The parent point however that France and Spain are able to build railroads at 1/5 and 1/10 the rate of the US needs some reference.