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At 8.07 U.S. dollars, Switzerland has the most expensive Big Macs in the world, according to the July 2024 Big Mac index. Concurrently, the cost of a Big Mac was 5.69 dollars in the U.S., and 6.06 U.S. dollars in the Euro area.What is the Big Mac index?The Big Mac index, published by The Economist, is a novel way of measuring whether the market exchange rates for different countries’ currencies are overvalued or undervalued. It does this by measuring each currency against a common standard – the Big Mac hamburger sold by McDonald’s restaurants all over the world. Twice a year the Economist converts the average national price of a Big Mac into U.S. dollars using the exchange rate at that point in time. As a Big Mac is a completely standardized product across the world, the argument goes that it should have the same relative cost in every country. Differences in the cost of a Big Mac expressed as U.S. dollars therefore reflect differences in the purchasing power of each currency. Is the Big Mac index a good measure of purchasing power parity?Purchasing power parity (PPP) is the idea that items should cost the same in different countries, based on the exchange rate at that time. This relationship does not hold in practice. Factors like tax rates, wage regulations, whether components need to be imported, and the level of market competition all contribute to price variations between countries. The Big Mac index does measure this basic point – that one U.S. dollar can buy more in some countries than others. There are more accurate ways to measure differences in PPP though, which convert a larger range of products into their dollar price. Adjusting for PPP can have a massive effect on how we understand a country’s economy. The country with the largest GDP adjusted for PPP is China, but when looking at the unadjusted GDP of different countries, the U.S. has the largest economy.
根据2024年7月的《大麦克指数》,瑞士的Big Mac汉堡价格位居全球之首,高达8.07美元。与此同时,美国Big Mac的价格为5.69美元,而在欧元区则为6.06美元。何为Big Mac指数?《经济学人》发布的Big Mac指数,是一种独特的方法,用以衡量不同国家货币的市场汇率是否被高估或低估。该指数通过将每种货币与一个共同的标准——麦当劳在全球范围内的Big Mac汉堡价格——进行对比来实现。每半年,《经济学人》都会利用当时的汇率,将Big Mac的平均国家价格转换成美元。鉴于Big Mac在全球范围内是一个完全标准化的产品,有观点认为它应该在每个国家具有相同的相对成本。因此,以美元计价的Big Mac价格差异反映了每种货币的购买力差异。Big Mac指数是否是衡量购买力平价的良好指标?购买力平价(PPP)的理念是,基于当时的汇率,物品在不同国家应该具有相同的成本。在实际情况中,这一关系并不成立。税率、工资规定、零部件是否需要进口,以及市场竞争水平等因素都会导致各国价格差异。Big Mac指数确实测量了这一基本点——即一美元在某些国家能购买到的商品比在其他国家更多。然而,存在更精确的方法来衡量PPP的差异,这些方法将更广泛的产品范围转换为美元价格。调整PPP会对我们理解一个国家的经济产生重大影响。按PPP调整后的最大GDP国家是中国,但当我们观察不同国家的未调整GDP时,美国拥有最大的经济体。