Economia
THE Economist’s Big Mac index is a fun guide to whether currencies are at their “correct” level. It is based on the theory of purchasing-power parity (PPP), the notion that in the long run exchange rates should move towards the rate that would equalise the prices of a basket of goods and services around the world. At market exchange rates, a burger is 44% cheaper in China than in America. In other words, the raw Big Mac index suggests that the yuan is 44% undervalued against the dollar. But we have long warned that cheap burgers in China do not prove that the yuan is massively undervalued. Average prices should be lower in poor countries than in rich ones because labour costs are lower. The chart above shows a strong positive relationship between the dollar price of a Big Mac and GDP per person.
PPP signals where exchange rates should move in the long run. To estimate the current fair value of a currency we use the “line of best fit” between Big Mac prices and GDP per person. The difference between the price predicted for each country, given its average income, and its actual price offers a better guide to currency under- and overvaluation than the “raw” index. The beefed-up index suggests that the Brazilian real is the most overvalued currency in the world; the euro is also significantly overvalued. But the yuan now appears to be close to its fair value against the dollar—something for American politicians to chew over. Read more in our Economics focus and leader.
Click on the tabs in the table below for a ranking of currencies on both the raw and the adjusted index:
Mais
Veja também: "O que está por trás da guerra cambial?" por Antony Mueller
- O Padrão Do Dólar
Our Dollar, Your Problem In his new book, The Unloved Dollar Standard: From Bretton Woods to the Rise of China, McKinnon explains some uncomfortable truths. The dollar standard is unloved because of what one US Treasury secretary told his foreign critics...
- Estados Unidos E China Em Comparação
We invite you to predict when China will overtake America AMERICA'S GDP is still roughly twice as big as China’s (using market exchange rates). To predict when the gap might be closed, The Economist has updated its interactive chart below with...
- Guerra Cambial
Bernanke Bludgeons China With Inflation in Currency War: Books By James PressleyWe’re in the throes of Currency War III, and Ben Bernanke has won the first offensive by flooding China with inflation. If this sounds like a geeky online...
- O Retorno Do Dragão
O futuro da Bovespa decide a China. Mais cedo ou tarde a China vai provocar o collapso do real e da Bovespa: "... Foreign inflows to Brazil totaled $28.7-billion in 2009. In order to defend the US-dollar from spiraling lower, the BoB bought $24-billion...
-
Taxa de câmbio... Será que a China muda sua taxa de câmbio apenas de dez em dez anos? Em um momento em que o governo brasileiro diz ser vantajoso aumentar as relações comerciais com a China, esta se torna uma questão pertinente. Leia mais...
Economia
Sobre- e subvalorização das taxas de câmbio em termos de poder de compra e renda
PPP signals where exchange rates should move in the long run. To estimate the current fair value of a currency we use the “line of best fit” between Big Mac prices and GDP per person. The difference between the price predicted for each country, given its average income, and its actual price offers a better guide to currency under- and overvaluation than the “raw” index. The beefed-up index suggests that the Brazilian real is the most overvalued currency in the world; the euro is also significantly overvalued. But the yuan now appears to be close to its fair value against the dollar—something for American politicians to chew over. Read more in our Economics focus and leader.
Click on the tabs in the table below for a ranking of currencies on both the raw and the adjusted index:
Mais
Veja também: "O que está por trás da guerra cambial?" por Antony Mueller
loading...
- O Padrão Do Dólar
Our Dollar, Your Problem In his new book, The Unloved Dollar Standard: From Bretton Woods to the Rise of China, McKinnon explains some uncomfortable truths. The dollar standard is unloved because of what one US Treasury secretary told his foreign critics...
- Estados Unidos E China Em Comparação
We invite you to predict when China will overtake America AMERICA'S GDP is still roughly twice as big as China’s (using market exchange rates). To predict when the gap might be closed, The Economist has updated its interactive chart below with...
- Guerra Cambial
Bernanke Bludgeons China With Inflation in Currency War: Books By James PressleyWe’re in the throes of Currency War III, and Ben Bernanke has won the first offensive by flooding China with inflation. If this sounds like a geeky online...
- O Retorno Do Dragão
O futuro da Bovespa decide a China. Mais cedo ou tarde a China vai provocar o collapso do real e da Bovespa: "... Foreign inflows to Brazil totaled $28.7-billion in 2009. In order to defend the US-dollar from spiraling lower, the BoB bought $24-billion...
-
Taxa de câmbio... Será que a China muda sua taxa de câmbio apenas de dez em dez anos? Em um momento em que o governo brasileiro diz ser vantajoso aumentar as relações comerciais com a China, esta se torna uma questão pertinente. Leia mais...