The price of life:

Japan: $12.3 million United States: $7.5 million Hong Kong: $2.2 million South Korea: $1.1 million Mexico City: $365,000
The price of a bicycle (for average worker):

1895: 6.5 weeks of work . . . 2010: 19 hours of work
The price of food (share of family budget):

USA: 9.7% . . . UK: 16.3% . . . Brazil: 22.7% . . . Bolivia: 42.5% . . . Indonesia: 50.6% . . . Albania: 69.2% . . .
The price of work (dollars per hour):

USA: $40 . . . Korea: $18 . . . Netherlands: $36 . . . Spain: $26 . . .
The price of addiction (annual spending on tobacco):

Mexico: $87 . . . Serbia: $119 . . . Turkey: $220 . . . Australia: $241 . . . Germany: $266 . . . USA: $274 . . . Portugal: $320 . . . Japan: $519 . . . Greece: $718 . . .
The price of inebriation (annual alcohol purchases as a share of individual spending):

Turkey: 0.1% ($7) . . . South Korea: 0.3% ($37) . . . Japan: 1% ($204) . . . US: 1.1% ($341) . . . Portugal: 1.1% ($174) . . . Australia: 1.3% ($286) . . . France:1.5% ($333) . . . Germany: 1.8% ($410) . . . Luxembourg: 2.4% ($820) . . . Russia: 3.5% ($280) . . .
The price of illegal immigration (average smuggler fees on Mexican border):

2008: $2600 . . . 2000: $1600 . . . 1990: $500 . . .
The price of a license plate in Abu Dhabi:

$14,000,000 for the “1” plate in a 2008 auction . . . $95 for a regular plate . . .
The price of beauty (United States and Canada):

Wage of a beautiful worker = 1.13 the wage of an ugly worker
The value of unionization:

$148 a week / Wage of a union worker = 1.21 times the wage of a non-union worker
The price of a soccer star:

In 2009 Cristiano Ronaldo earned 16 times what Pele earned in 1960, after inflation.
The price of a banker (Average bonus on Wall Street):

2009: $123,850 . . . 2005: $149,800 . . . 2000: $100,530 . . . 1995: $41,410 . . . 1990: $15,540 . . . 1985: $13,970 . . .
The price of pollution (cost of a ton of co2):

European Climate Exchange: $20 . . . EPA estimate of environmental cost today: $40-$68

International Editions

United Kingdom Edition

Published by: William Heinemann (6 Jan 2011)
ISBN-10: 043401978X
ISBN-13: 978-0434019786

Order from Amazon

Korean edition

Published by: Gimm-Young (9 May 2011)

Dutch Edition

Published by: Spectrum (11 June 2011)
ISBN-10: 9049107826
ISBN-13: 978-9049107826

Italian Edition

Published by: Rizzoli ETAS (September 2011)

Portugal/Edicoes Asa—May 2011

Brazil/Editora Objetiva—August 2011

China (Mainland)/China Citic Press—October 2011

Japan/Nikkei—Fall 2011

Spain/Aguilar (Santillana) Ediciones

Taiwan/Yuan-Liou

Israel/Matar

The Price Of Everything

Eduardo Porter, © Martirene Alcántara

Please send anecdotes, tips, research papers, photos, links, charts and crazy experiences with prices to eduardo@eduardoporter.com

Eduardo Porter writes about business, economics, and many other matters as a member of the New York Times editorial board. He has also worked as a journalist in Mexico City, Tokyo, London, São Paulo, and Los Angeles. He was the editor of the Brazilian edition of América Economía and covered the Hispanic population of the United States for The Wall Street Journal. He lives in New York.