So i was teaching my Upper Sixth today introducing the Development Gap and how development can be measured; specifically how PPP (purchasing power parity) is more robust than GDP/GNI.
The Economists in the room, of which there are many, started to pipe up about other comparative measures like the Big Mac Index - i had not heard of this, but low and behold here it is in all of it's glory:
Websites to explore in more depth:
http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/07/big-mac-index
http://www.economist.com/node/13055650
http://flowingdata.com/2011/08/04/big-mac-index/
Questions to consider and discuss:
1. Is there a 'best' measure of levels of development and development per se? If so, what is it and why? If not, what is a food combination?
2. How could the reliability of certain measures be improved?
The Economists in the room, of which there are many, started to pipe up about other comparative measures like the Big Mac Index - i had not heard of this, but low and behold here it is in all of it's glory:
Websites to explore in more depth:
http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/07/big-mac-index
http://www.economist.com/node/13055650
http://flowingdata.com/2011/08/04/big-mac-index/
Questions to consider and discuss:
1. Is there a 'best' measure of levels of development and development per se? If so, what is it and why? If not, what is a food combination?
2. How could the reliability of certain measures be improved?
