5 ms·

I love me some Big Mac indices. The concept is intriguing. I'd like to see the potato index or something non brand related. The trouble is choosing the right ve

I love me some Big Mac indices. The concept is intriguing. I'd like to see the potato index or something non brand related. The trouble is choosing the right veggie/product

stephengillie 11y ago
Is there another food item that is so ubiquitous? Some cultures don't eat rice. Some cultures don't eat potatoes. Some cultures don't eat corn. Some don't eat tofu. And for the many food items that are somewhat easy to find worldwide, demand will be different. And is there another measuring stick that would give us the simultaneous jab against globalization and corporate imperialism?
- rottyguy 11y ago
  When I traveled a bit last year, it seemed KFC was everywhere! I would think a Chicken Index would be as good as any to have.
  - latch 11y ago
    KFC is definitely more popular than McDonalds in Asia. Chicken and pork are much more popular than beef. I've always assumed it had to do with the stupendously inefficient nature of beef in terms of cost & land.
    - tosseraccount 11y ago
      Beef is also taboo in India.
      - Mikeb85 11y ago
        McPaneer sandwich index?
    - seanmcdirmid 11y ago
      I went to KFC the other day, since the McDonald's next door was way too busy. KFC doesn't always do better than McDs, at least in Beijing.
  - manolus 11y ago
    It's not common in Brazil.
- SilasX 11y ago
  Not really food, but ubiquitous and immune to local shocks: insulin.
  - manyxcxi 11y ago
    Not true. My dad's side of the family lives in Libya and one of my aunts requires insulin- the price went up at least 5x during the worst of it and it's still currently 3x of what it used to be.
    - SilasX 11y ago
      I mean differential shocks -- you want the index/item to track the general price differences between the countries, and not be thrown off by a cow disease that drives up milk -- or a good just being cheaper because of favorable local conditions. If insulin became expensive during the war, that was only because things became more expensive in general, right? That's what the index should capture: "you need 3x in dollar terms to buy the same stuff in Libya."
  - thingylab 11y ago
    How good is your index if you don't capture local shocks?
- Xophmeister 11y ago
  Beer?
  - robmcm 11y ago
    It needs to be consistent quality and non imported ideally. Guiness for example is going to cost a lot to ship, or local beer could be very low quality in order to keep the price affordable.
    - Iiop1 11y ago
      Or just count the cheapest alcohol available
      - robmcm 11y ago
        Again it will likley be imported from countries with lower labor costs. You need something perishable, and of low enough cost that importing is unlikley. Bread would be a good option but has the issue that it's not as common in Japan as France, it also varies wildley where as a big mac is generally consistent.
        taejo 11y ago
        A Big Mac, as a branded item, varies by cultural context: in the US, it's super cheap fast food; in Europe it might be late-night after-party food; in Asia, an extravagant treat.
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
  - jon-wood 11y ago
    Yes please, it always helps an economics discussion.
  - refurb 11y ago
    The biggest issue with alcoholic beverages are the taxes that go along with them. Some countries have very high alcohol taxes while others have almost none. That would seriously throw off the PPP calculation.
thingylab 11y ago
Any practical reason you'd want a "non brand related" index? The way I understand it the Big Mac index is pretty good because it casts a wide net from the cost of producing (or importing) food to the price of labour, and everything in between. I doubt you'd get that with a potato.
- Drakim 11y ago
  While it's true that the price of labor, production, transportation, etc, would affect the cost of the Big Mac, it's still ultimately up to McDonalds to set the price, deciding what sort of margin they want from the product, maybe taking into account stuff like brand recognition. So, using something like the potato would eliminate that sort of "bias" to the product, as no one party controls the potato, and thus couldn't artificially set the price higher at a whim. If the price of the potato rose, it would be because the whole market reacted to some changes to transportation or production costs, not because management has decided that they want to build their brand as being expensive and exclusive (which we know happens with a lot of brand products).
  - jsprogrammer 11y ago
    There are dozens of varieties of potato. Not all have the same costs to go from seed to market. What is a 'potato'?
  - thingylab 11y ago
    1) I think you're asking too much of what is essentially a silly experiment. 2) What if potatoes become hip? 3) If you want auditable PPP conversion rates: http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/PA.NUS.PPP http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/PA.NUS.PPP
wikiwawa 11y ago
More ubiquitous, Coke: http://blog.premise.com/data/science/2014/09/26/introducing-premise-coca-cola-index/ http://blog.premise.com/data/science/2014/09/26/introducing-...

I love me some Big Mac indices. The concept is intriguing. I'd like to see the potato index or something non brand related. The trouble is choosing the right veggie/product

stephengillie 11y ago

Is there another food item that is so ubiquitous? Some cultures don't eat rice. Some cultures don't eat potatoes. Some cultures don't eat corn. Some don't eat tofu. And for the many food items that are somewhat easy to find worldwide, demand will be different. And is there another measuring stick that would give us the simultaneous jab against globalization and corporate imperialism?

rottyguy 11y ago
When I traveled a bit last year, it seemed KFC was everywhere! I would think a Chicken Index would be as good as any to have.
- latch 11y ago
  KFC is definitely more popular than McDonalds in Asia. Chicken and pork are much more popular than beef. I've always assumed it had to do with the stupendously inefficient nature of beef in terms of cost & land.
  - tosseraccount 11y ago
    Beef is also taboo in India.
    - Mikeb85 11y ago
      McPaneer sandwich index?
  - seanmcdirmid 11y ago
    I went to KFC the other day, since the McDonald's next door was way too busy. KFC doesn't always do better than McDs, at least in Beijing.
- manolus 11y ago
  It's not common in Brazil.
SilasX 11y ago
Not really food, but ubiquitous and immune to local shocks: insulin.
- manyxcxi 11y ago
  Not true. My dad's side of the family lives in Libya and one of my aunts requires insulin- the price went up at least 5x during the worst of it and it's still currently 3x of what it used to be.
  - SilasX 11y ago
    I mean differential shocks -- you want the index/item to track the general price differences between the countries, and not be thrown off by a cow disease that drives up milk -- or a good just being cheaper because of favorable local conditions. If insulin became expensive during the war, that was only because things became more expensive in general, right? That's what the index should capture: "you need 3x in dollar terms to buy the same stuff in Libya."
- thingylab 11y ago
  How good is your index if you don't capture local shocks?
Xophmeister 11y ago
Beer?
- robmcm 11y ago
  It needs to be consistent quality and non imported ideally. Guiness for example is going to cost a lot to ship, or local beer could be very low quality in order to keep the price affordable.
  - Iiop1 11y ago
    Or just count the cheapest alcohol available
    - robmcm 11y ago
      Again it will likley be imported from countries with lower labor costs. You need something perishable, and of low enough cost that importing is unlikley. Bread would be a good option but has the issue that it's not as common in Japan as France, it also varies wildley where as a big mac is generally consistent.
      - taejo 11y ago
        A Big Mac, as a branded item, varies by cultural context: in the US, it's super cheap fast food; in Europe it might be late-night after-party food; in Asia, an extravagant treat.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
- jon-wood 11y ago
  Yes please, it always helps an economics discussion.
- refurb 11y ago
  The biggest issue with alcoholic beverages are the taxes that go along with them. Some countries have very high alcohol taxes while others have almost none. That would seriously throw off the PPP calculation.

thingylab 11y ago

Any practical reason you'd want a "non brand related" index? The way I understand it the Big Mac index is pretty good because it casts a wide net from the cost of producing (or importing) food to the price of labour, and everything in between. I doubt you'd get that with a potato.

Drakim 11y ago
While it's true that the price of labor, production, transportation, etc, would affect the cost of the Big Mac, it's still ultimately up to McDonalds to set the price, deciding what sort of margin they want from the product, maybe taking into account stuff like brand recognition. So, using something like the potato would eliminate that sort of "bias" to the product, as no one party controls the potato, and thus couldn't artificially set the price higher at a whim. If the price of the potato rose, it would be because the whole market reacted to some changes to transportation or production costs, not because management has decided that they want to build their brand as being expensive and exclusive (which we know happens with a lot of brand products).
- jsprogrammer 11y ago
  There are dozens of varieties of potato. Not all have the same costs to go from seed to market. What is a 'potato'?
- thingylab 11y ago
  1) I think you're asking too much of what is essentially a silly experiment. 2) What if potatoes become hip? 3) If you want auditable PPP conversion rates: http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/PA.NUS.PPP http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/PA.NUS.PPP

wikiwawa 11y ago

More ubiquitous, Coke: http://blog.premise.com/data/science/2014/09/26/introducing-premise-coca-cola-index/ http://blog.premise.com/data/science/2014/09/26/introducing-...