More mapping — this time from UBS, Europe's second-largest bank or “the world's biggest manager of other people's money” as The Economist calls it. (Well, there’s no escaping death and taxes.)
First published in 1971, Prices and Earnings offers a gauge of what people make and what they can buy with it, in any given city.
This nuanced comparison of purchasing power around the globe is a must-read for pundits who keep tabs on the Big Mac Index, Mercer cost of living surveys, GfK purchasing power studies, etc.
So where does Kyiv rank? Not very high.
On average, it takes 82 hrs of work to buy an iPod Nano in Kyiv, compared to 10.5 hrs in Toronto, 9 hrs in New York, 36 hrs in Moscow and 45.5 hrs in Warsaw.
Sources:
http://www.ubs.com/1/e/wealthmanagement/wealth_management_research/prices_earnings.html
http://www.ubs.com/1/ShowMedia/wealthmanagement/wealth_management_research/prices_earnings?contentId=170298&name=PreiseLoehne_2009_e.pdf
http://kiyany.obozrevatel.com/news/2009/8/28/55966.htm
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4 comments:
In Budapest you need 68,5 hours. It is quite a lot because an average workinng hour per weeks is 40 (in reality more).
Very interesting...no doubt 2006-09 FOREX erosion and inflation (+9.0%, +12.8%, and +25.2S%) have something to do with the wide discrepancies.
"The biggest casualty was Ukraine’s hryvnya, which depreciated 38.4% against the US dollar."
Wow, what an eye opener of what others make around the world. Also the taxes and S.S. they pay. We are Blessed here in America.
Ropi,
I fully agree. 68.5 hrs is indeed a lot. I kind of expected Budapest to be on a par with Warsaw. And, yes, the definition of workweek varies from country to country and from person to person.
John,
Since the crisis began, the hryvnia has depreciated more than 60% against the dollar and yet, according to the Big Mac Index, it's 49% undervalued. As for the giant income disparities, they had existed well before the crisis hit Ukraine full steam.
Alan,
Yes, you are:)
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