The second column calculates Big Mac PPPs by dividing the local currency price by the American price. For instance, in Japan Big Mac costs￥22. Dividing this by the American price of$2.90 produces a dollar PPP against the yen of Y90, compared with its current rate of Y113, suggesting

For many years a huge Manila garbage dump known as Smokey Mountain was a favorite media symbol of Third World poverty. Several thousand men, women, and children lived on that dump--enduring the stench, the flies, and the toxic waste in order to make a living combing the garbage for scrap metal and other recyclables. And they lived there voluntarily, because the $10 or so

Economist.comOPINION Economics focus Stop worrying and love the deficit Nov 27th 2003 From The Economist print edition America's current-account deficit poses few dangers, says Alan Greenspan. Except to Europeans IN THE past year the United States has run up a current-account deficit of more than $500 billion. Some think that the line of credit extended by the res

The Leadership Forum: The World in 2005 December 3rd 2004, London RESEARCH TOOLS Economist.com SURVEYS Flying on one engine Sep 18th 2003 From The Economist print edition

RESEARCH TOOLS Economist.comSURVEYS Facts behind the figures Sep 18th 2003 From The Economist print edition Much ado about nothing urrent accour

From The Economist print edition Why the world cannot count on a repeat of the 1980s PARALLELS abound between Ronald Reagan and George Bush. Like the Gipper, Dubya is a sun- belt conservative with fondness for his ranch. In all, Mr Reagan spent about one year of his eight-year presidency at his California retreat. Mr Bush has turned his patch of Texan scrub near Crawford into the hottest destination for world leaders

Asia's addiction to cheap currencies must end. But not overnight THE average homeowner in Peoria has probably never heard of Toshihiko Fukui, Zhou Xiachuan, Joseph Yam, Perng Fai-nan or Park Seung. But he has a lot to thank them for. These men, respectively bosses of the central banks of Japan, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South

The world economy needs both TO GET a sense of the challenges facing the global economy, fast-forward four years to September 2007 and consider the following three scenarios: he world's top finance ministers arrive in Washington for an emergency summit after the

boosted global trade and triggered a surge in commodity prices: The Economist's metals index is at ten-year From budding to blooming high. This has been a fillip to raw-materials producers, GDP growth, annual average such as Brazil, South Africa and Russia. Low global %2001-04 interest rates have also reduced debt-servic costs, and

From The Economist print edition Panos Is economic inequality around the world getting better or worse? CRITICS of capitalism are convinced that the gap between rich and poor is widening across the world. For them, the claim amounts almost to an article of faith: worsening inequality is a sure sign of the moral bankruptcy of \the system\. Whether rising inequality should in fact be seen