As posted by Esquire and read via Valet:I was in Sweden this past weekend, where my first order of business after stepping off the plane was plonking down 108 kronas, or $18, for a bottle of water, a cappuccino, and a muffin. What? How could this be possible? All was made clear later in the day when I came upon The Economist's Big Mac Index, in which the smartest guys in the room attempt to make fancy economic principles like purchasing-power parity and currency valuations tangible to your average math-allergic burger-lover like me. Success!
Ladies and gents, we can learn much by simply looking at Big Mac prices around the globe. For instance, we should all think twice before planning a vacation to Sweden, where you'll pay almost twice as much for your fast-food burger (the Swedes are quick to point out that Norway's prices are even worse). Taking the analysis one step further, by adjusting those global prices to account for varying labor costs in different countries, we can learn something about exchange rates. Namely that pretty much every world currency is overvalued against the dollar, the worst of which is the Brazilian real. The takeaway: For your next vacation, it's a great time to rediscover America's scenic roadways. [The Economist]
I should have eaten more last March in China.
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