Purchasing Power Parity

The magazine The Economist brought you the Big Mac Index.

On April  17, 2012 McDonalds gives you a good deal: buy a Big Mac get another for a penny.

The idea for the index was originally to determine how much the same thing was worth in different parts of the world.  Globalization makes this a reasonable measure of relative purchasing power.  In Switzerland a Big Mac is over $8.00, while in India it is only $1.89.

The April 7, 2012 Economist ponders the question: How much is an Olympic gold medal worth?

This year's medals will be 14 ounces in weight but contain only about six grams of gold (1.5%), and the rest being silver (92.5%) and copper.  The gold medal is worth about $706 at today's bullion prices because silver isn't as cheap as used to be.

Winning a gold medal is a ticket to celebrity and maybe a good paycheck or two..., but the medal ceremony with your national anthem being played is priceless.

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