Big Mac Index vs. the Buttered Ham Sandwich

The Economist coined the terms "burgernomics" and "Big Mac index," so a French market analysis firm is fighting back with Gallic pluck by promoting a metric for economic measurement dubbed the "buttered-ham sandwich" index. Gira Conseil uses the numbers of these peculiarly French culinary fixtures as a yardstick of the country’s buying power. First used in 1986, the "Big Mac index" gives a concrete image of purchasing-power parity (PPP) where exchange rates are pegged to the cost of a basket of goods in each country. It turns out the English magazine's "basket" really has only a Big Mac hamburger, but shows the price for 120 countries around the world. An exchange rate with the same price for a Big Mac (measured in dollars) is the measure for fair-value among these competing currencies.

Gira Conseil points out how the French bought (and presumably ate) 1.2bn buttered-ham sandwiches last year, representing about 70% of the country’s 1.8bn sandwiches. The "ham-butter" (jambon-beurre) index will not only show comparative price ranges across the economy, but the company plans to publish it annually allowing observers to track changes over time. The trusty little sandwich varies in price from €1.79 in a hypermarket €3.72 at an typical trendy sandwich boutique. And it has evolved from its origins in cafes to spread throughout the economy. Critics of France's traditional retailing sector point out the cafes have lost business to chains and discounters by failing to adapt to the changing marketplace, even losing ground to bakers who have captured 14% of the total €6.1bn sandwich category.

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