November 18, 2006
(2 votes)
Loading ...KLites Need to Work 33 Minutes to Buy a Big Mac!
Geneva — Residents of Tokyo have the highest purchasing power in the world, edging out people in Toronto, Montreal, Los Angeles, Sydney, Australia, and London, according to a new survey by the Swiss banking giant UBS that uses the “Big Mac” as its benchmark.
“Wages only become meaningful in relation to prices — that is, what can be bought with the money earned,” it said.
The bank calculated the “weighted net hourly wage in 14 professions” and divided it into the local price of “a globally available product,” for which it chose McDonald’s flagship hamburger.
“On a global average, 35 minutes of work buys a Big Mac,” it said. “But the disparities are huge: in Nairobi, 1½ hours’ work is needed to buy the burger with the net hourly wage there. In the U.S. cities of Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and Miami, a maximum of 13 minutes’ labour is needed.”
Stick to nasi lemak, you’ll probably only need to work for like 10 minutes to get one.
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