‘Big Mac Affordability’ and Real-Income Inequality Across Countries
Applied Economics Letters, 2019
DOI: 10.1080/13504851.2019.1679342
Posted: 4 Jun 2020
Date Written: October 1, 2019
Abstract
Using the Big Mac Index and focusing on the deciles of the income distribution, we produce a descriptive study of real-income inequality from households in 29 countries and for period 2000 to 2013. Using daily Big Mac Affordability (BMA), we rank and show differences in the living standards and the purchasing power of individuals belonging to different income deciles in these countries. We also provide a multidimensional Big Mac real-income inequality analysis by looking at Coefficient of Variation as well as the share of bottom to top decile BMA (as a measure of dispersion) across countries.
Keywords: Big Mac Index, Affordability, Income Inequality, Income Distribution Decile, Comparative Country Studies
JEL Classification: D31, O57
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation