You should have heard of the term Purchasing Power Parity. What the term means is that whereas one US Dollar can fetch you Indian Rs.63/-, it does not actually buy you as much goods and services in USA as Rs 63/- would buy you in India. in other words the PPP Exchange rate for Indian rupee would be more like say Rs 25/- to a US Dollar.
Now the Economist has published what they call the Big Mac Index, to account for PPP. So in each country they find out the price of a Big Mac Burger from the local McDonald's, and compare it with price in USD in America of a Big Mac Burger from the American McDonald's outlet. The comparison is valid because McDonald's make the same type of burger and price it in each market at the same level of affordability. So a comparison substitutes for a computed PPP.
I have also come across a Starbucks Coffee index somewhere.
But what about comparing within India and outside, the price of something which is more local, more a part of our daily lives!?
So I propose that we compute an Elanir Index. That is an index comparing the price of a tender coconut in various parts of the world.
In order to develop this index, I need your help!
Please go and have an Elanir in your local market. Please add a comment in this blog or on my Facebook page of
Where you drank the tender coconut
When- date
And what was the price in local currency.
If you're travelling, you can give me multiple data points, PLEASE!
I will quickly map an index and come back to all of you.
I am quite curious about the Elanir Index in various parts of India. Recently, I came across prices from Rs 15 to Rs 30, around south India itself.
please give me the data. Imagine how curious the comparisons may be, based on Elanir price in Sydney Australia, in Singapore, in Bangkok and Bangalore, not to mention Chennai, Cochin, Mumbai, Toronto etc, etc!
So come back...where, at what price, and when did you consume your Elanir recently!?
