The Big Book of Dashboards

Chapter 19 Big Mac Index

The Economist Big Mac Index.

Dashboard Designer: Donald Hounam (developer), Roxana Willis (data), and Pam Woodall (index originator)

Organization: The Economist (http://www.economist.com/content/big-mac-index)

Scenario

Big Picture

You are an economist, or someone interested in economics, and want to compare the levels of one currency against another. You could do this using complex models based on large shopping baskets of diverse goods. Or you could compare the price of one product that is the same across the world: a Big Mac. How much does one cost in countries around the world relative to the major currencies? For example, is a Big Mac in China over- or undervalued compared to the U.S. dollar? That measure is the Big Mac Index (BMI).

Specifics

• You want to see the worldwide variation in currency valuations.
• You want to compare gross domestic product (GDP) to the BMI price.
• You want to be able to see how the index has changed over time.
• You want to see a ranking of all currencies balanced against one base currency (dollar, pound, euro, or yen).

Related Scenarios

• Compare unemployment rates in different countries or in different states in the same country.
• Compare currencies with the price of gold.

How People Use the Dashboard

In 1986, The Economist developed the BMI as a fun currency valuation tool. Since then, it has become wildly popular with ...