Every year, The Economist, London, publishes the Big Mac Index, a light-hearted computation of how overvalued or not a currency is, based on the price of a McDonald’s hamburger. It’s another way of looking at the theory of purchasing-power parity (PPP), which says that exchange rates should equalise the price of a basket of goods in any two countries. In other words, in dollar terms,the price of a Big Mac should be the same everywhere.

But India doesn’t figure on the Big Mac Index although Pakistan and Sri Lanka do. Why?

# Because there aren’t too many McDonald’s outlets in India?

# Because McDonald’s isn’t doing too well in India despite its trade-marking the AlooTikki?

# Because our per capita consumption of Big Macs is too low to register on the Richter scale?

# Because not too many Indians know that a hamburger isn’t made of pork?

# Because The Economist doesn’t want to insult vegetarians in the world’s largest democracy?

# Because its correspondent is on leave?

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uoıʇɹodɹoɔ s,plɐuopɔɯ ǝɥʇ ɟo ʞɹɐɯǝpɐɹʇ pǝɹǝʇsıƃǝɹ ɐ ʇǝʎ puɐ pooƃ ʎpoolq ʇnq ʎʇɹıp ‘ʎsɐǝɹƃ ‘uɐıpuı :ıʞʞıʇ oolɐ sı ıʞʞıʇ oolɐ ˙uıɐʇıɹq ǝpısʇno ǝɹoɯ sllǝs ʇɐɥʇ ɹǝdɐdsʍǝu ʎlʞǝǝʍ ɥsıʇıɹq ɐ sı ʇsıɯouoɔǝ ǝɥʇ ˙ʎɐʍ ʇɐɥʇ ʇı dǝǝʞ uɐɔ ʎǝɥʇ puɐ uoıʇɐɹodɹoɔ s,plɐuopɔɯ ǝɥʇ ɟo ʞɹɐɯǝpɐɹʇ pǝɹǝʇsıƃǝɹ ǝɥʇ sı s,plɐuopɔɯ

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Cross-posted on Kosambari