Big Mac

Indeed, it's as futile as trying to counter a daily Big Mac diet and a pack-a-day smoking habit with a daily jog, scientists say.

A MONTH ago we asked if you could tell us how much a Big Mac costs where you live, to compile a crowdsourced version of our Big Mac index.

Our rough-and-ready Big Mac index calculated in July that the franc was as much as 98% overvalued against the dollar.

The top chart shows a strong positive relationship between the dollar price of a Big Mac and GDP per person.

Yet the Big Mac index has become a global standard, included in several economic textbooks and the subject of at least 20 academic studies.

Advice: When udo have to swim in Croc infested waters then take along a few big Mac's and when a Croc strikes throw them down its gullet!

Women can munch their way into a bigger dress size in weeks by "auto-eating" the calorie equivalent of a Big Mac a day.

A year ago the pound was overvalued by more than a quarter on the Big Mac gauge.

Statisticians cannot stop at the Big Mac but must work out both the contents and the price of a representative basket of goods.

Studies suggest that the Big Mac index fairly closely tracks the purchasing-power-parity rates calculated by more sophisticated methods.

The average Asian probably knows much about a Big Mac but has no idea what char kuay teow is.

The Big Mac did not rescue the world from the Malthusian Trap.

A FEW weeks ago The Economist invited readers who enjoy our Big Mac index to invent other quirky economic indicators.

THE dollar's recent revival has made fewer currencies look dear against the Big Mac index, our lighthearted guide to exchange rates.

The Big Mac index shows it is still at least 30 to 40 percent undervalued.

But today, McDonald's and the Big Mac are both a symbol of our wealth and tool for comparing wealth, burger-to-burger, across time.

After adjusting for this, she finds that the Big Mac index performs better in tracking exchange rates.

McDonald's has announced that it will offer financial incentives to rappers who mention its Big Mac burger in their lyrics.

IT IS nearly 25 years since The Economist cooked up the Big Mac index.

Hence the new Big Mac index, which adjusts for GDP per capita, and thus takes into account the lower costs in poorer countries.

The Brazilian real is one of the few emerging-market currencies that is trading well above its Big Mac benchmark.

American politicians cite the Big Mac index as proof that the yuan is massively undervalued.

Only a handful of currencies are close to their Big Mac PPP.

I could see myself on a balcony eating a Big Mac, casually throwing fries over my shoulder into the sea-salted air.

Some economists think the Big Mac index has been surprisingly accurate in predicting long-run movements in exchange rates.

We invented the Big Mac and the Twinkie; the freeway and the internet and the skyscraper; government and religion and law.

Our basket contains just a single item, a Big Mac hamburger, but one that is sold around the world.

And now, in a research paper released last week, Princeton's Orley C. Ashenfelter has done something truly fascinating with the Big Mac.

They cited testimony saying that walking the court consumes no more calories than you get eating a Big Mac.

They expect, and get, creature comforts and that includes Big-Mac's and pizzas.

In other words, the raw Big Mac index suggests that the yuan is undervalued by 44% against the dollar.

The Economist's Big Mac index, a lighthearted guide to valuing currencies, provides some clues.

The top chart shows the "line of best fit" between Big Mac prices and GDP per person for 48 countries.

From the makers of the Big Mac comes a small bond deal that is making bankers giddy as kids with a Happy Meal.

In the whole of the old law for all activities, Lille has been second -hand section of "Big Mac" well - known.

Just like clouds or a Rorschach test, people see what they want to see in architecture -- and sometimes, it's a Big Mac.

In addition to being a technological marvel, the Big Mac moonlights as an economic tool.

But the Big Mac index suggested that the euro was already overvalued.

I was sitting alone at a table with a big mac, two large fries, a large drink and 1 case of chicken nuggets.

In our table on the Big Mac Index on July 7th (corrected online), we miscalculated the American-dollar value of a Big Mac in New Zealand.

The Big Mac Museum in North Huntingdon, Pennsylvania opened in 2007 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the burger's creation.

The maps below show the price of a Big Mac, in local currency, across America and China.

These two stand out as emerging-market currencies that trade well above their Big Mac PPPs.

The Economist's Big Mac index offers a crude estimate of how far exchange rates are from PPP.

Stephen King once called himself the literary equivalent of a Big Mac and fries.

Carrie once threw a Big Mac at Big, so throwing things have been all the rage ever since, right?

That makes China's yuan one of the most undervalued currencies in our Big Mac index, which is based on the idea of purchasing-power parity.

Our basket contains just a single representative purchase, but one that is available in 120 countries: a Big Mac hamburger.

Our basket is a McDonald's Big Mac, produced locally to roughly the same recipe in 118 countries.

The 57-year-old retired prison guard broke his own world record by eating his 25, 000th Big Mac hamburger.

But upgrade that regular hamburger to a Big Mac, and you'll be adding more than 300 calories and 20 grams of fat to your meal!

If we're surrounded by people eating a supersized Big Mac meal, then we're much more likely to do the same.

The most famous PPP calculation is the Economist's Big Mac index.

In place of a range of products we use just one item, a Big Mac hamburger, which is sold worldwide.

The Big Mac takes very little work for any one person.

The Big Mac index may itself be undervalued.

Our basket consists of a single item, a Big Mac hamburger, produced in nearly 120 countries.

See more country data and currency rankings in our new improved Big Mac index .

becoming Big Mac in advertising.

The first column of the table shows local-currency prices of a Big Mac.

Staff: One Big Mac and one small coke. Will that be all?

The Big Mac is a triumph of technology.

THE Big Mac index celebrates its 25th birthday this year.

the fast food company just raised the cost of its popular big mac hamburger and other food by 0 . 1 - 0 . 5 yuan.

Some supermarket salads contain more fat and calories than a Big Mac and fries.

Fast-food junkies are best off in Chicago, Toronto and Tokyo, where it takes a mere 12 minutes at work to afford a Big Mac.

I'd like a Big Mac, an apple pie and french fries.

Yes. I'd like a Big Mac and small coke, please.

I've got this intense craving for a Big Mac.

consumes no more calories than you get eating a Big Mac.

A Big Mac and a coffee, please.

This is the thinking behind The Economist's Big Mac index.

In Brazil a Big Mac costs the equivalent of $5. 26, implying that the real is now overvalued by 42%.

If a Big Mac costs less in another country, then that country's currency is considered undervalued.

How much is this Big Mac worth? Is it worth 25 dollars?

Chuck Norris ordered a Big Mac at Burger King, and got one.

This year, you'll pay 40% less for a Big Mac in China than in the United States.

I'm sorry, all I can afford today is a Big Mac.

There is the common sense factor. I think seeing 540 calories listed beside a Big Mac might make people think twice.

S: A Big Mac. But what does that matter?

I want a Big Mac , a small order of French fries and a medium coke .

One in 10 had more salt than the 2. 1g found in a McDonald's Big Mac.

A: Really? Hmmm. . . OK, i got it. Given the choice, would you rather have a rice cake or a Big Mac?

Big Mac in China costs 11 yuan, equivalent to just $1. 45 at today's exchange rate, which means China's currency is undervalued by 58%.

The exchange rate that leaves a Big Mac costing the same in dollars everywhere is our fair-value benchmark.

The exchange rate that leaves a Big Mac costing the same in dollars everywhere is our fair-value yardstick.

b: i want a big mac, a smallsgroupsof french fries and a medium coke.

In China a McDonald's Big Mac costs just 14. 5 yuan on average in Beijing and Shenzhen, the equivalent of $2. 18 at market exchange rates.

The exchange rate that leaves a Big Mac costing the same everywhere is our fair-value yardstick.

The Big Mac PPP is the exchange rate that would leave burgers costing the same as in America.

a big mac . but what does that matter ? - well , i like a girl with a hearty appetite.

A Big Mac in China is half the cost of one in America, and other Asian currencies look similarly undervalued.

B: Yes, I'll have a Big Mac.

The average price of a Big Mac in America is $4. 07; in China it is only $2. 27 at market exchange rates, 44% cheaper.

In Norway a Big Mac would set you back by 45 kroner or $7. 20, nearly twice the cost in America.

Based on that estimate, 1400 calories is roughly a meal and a half of food wasted every day (or a Big Mac meal with a large Coke).

I want a Big Mac and some milk, please.

Big Mac costs $1. 95 in China at current exchange rates, against $3. 73 in America.

Big Mac costs 12. 5 yuan in China, which is $1. 83 at today's exchange rate, around half its price in America.

When the chips are down The latest Big Mac index suggests the euro is still overvalued

We have compared Big Mac prices late last year with those ten years earlier.

Lesson 35: If you have too much fat on your hip, it's not Mcdonald's fault, for they never force you to eat their Big Mac;

Finance and Economics; The Big Mac index; Calories and currencies;

Fat Attack on Big Mac Thrown Out of Court

Our Big Mac index shows the Chinese yuan is still undervalued

McDonald's to quit Iceland as Big Mac costs rise

The most famous example of using PPP is the Big Mac Index which is described by the Economist this way:

We invented the Big Mac and the Twinkie;

Combo Meal Big Mac Combo Meal

The Big Mac index

So if the price of a Big Mac translated into dollars is above $3. 57, its cost in America, the currency is dear;