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Comment by llao | Hacker News Reader

I only read the headline but does this use local purchasing power in $ equivalents? If not, I don't see what use that number could be.

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> If not, I don't see what use that number could be.

There is still value in the comparison. Products like mobile phones are going to have similar prices around the globe. Also, it affects the capability to travel.

With my European salary, I can travel anywhere in the world. Norway is more expensive than Turkey, but I can travel to both.

We had a team member for a secondment that came from a country with lower salaries. Our company had a policy where you pay first and then you get refunded. He needed to get all expenses pre-paid because of his full salary not being enough to pay for the expenses.

If you can buy a house in your country for 2,000 dollars. I can also buy a house in your country at that price. Probably I can buy a few of them once I have my basic needs covered in my own country.

So, there are more interesting data points than purchasing power in dollars. But it is relevant when we talk about wealth distribution.

What is a secondment?

> "Secondment is the assignment of a member of one organisation to another organisation for a temporary period. The employee typically retains their salary and other employment rights from their primary organisation but they work closely within the other organisation to provide training and the sharing of experience."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secondment

The more common usage I've heard of this word is that someone has been seconded to another group.

Another form is “so and so is on secondment to [the new organization]”, as in “She is actually a naval officer, but is on secondment to the Air Force as part of an project to standardize repair procedures.”

I think your privilege may be showing. Estimates are that there's around 3.6 billion airline passengers a year. That's not unique or international passengers, that's all passengers. When you factor in that most passengers fly several times a year, and most flights are domestic, that means international travelers are a privileged minority. Employees of international companies usually work for the local branch of said company as well, and are paid relative to local salaries not relative to all the companies salaries.

>Products like mobile phones are going to have similar prices around the globe.

This is a false assumption, and why controlling for purchasing power is important. Even expensive electronics don't have the same base price everywhere and local costs can add a significant amount. The overwhelming majority of consumer purchases cannot take advantage of international travel to countries with lower costs and better exchange rates. Even when they can, duties may apply when trying to bring things back. If it was so easy everyone would do it and the laws would have to be rewritten to prevent it.

>If you can buy a house in your country for 2,000 dollars. I can also buy a house in your country at that price.

This is also a false assumption, many countries have laws limiting foreign ownership and unused real estate, and getting credit for a home purchase can be even harder. The vast majority of homes are the primary residence of the people who own them, having a cheap second home in elsewhere does nothing for them

> Products like mobile phones are going to have similar prices around the globe

On the other hand, consider how much people pay in America for things which are not globally-transportable, such as housing, or services which are ultimately based on the labor rates of the people around them, like child care.

Between locations there can be definite asymmetries in the balance between goods, labor, and rents.

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