In the midst of inflation, the purchasing power of wages has deteriorated in recent years. A report prepared by the Institute of Economics (INECO) of the Universidad Argentina de la Empresa (UADE) calculated how many working days did it take -in March of this year- to acquire the most common consumptions: food, rent, tuition, and cell phone among other expenses.
To estimate the days these purchases take, the study took into account that: the median income of the formal sector is $211,797 and that of the informal sector is estimated at $110,210 for the same month. This calculation assumes only one person’s income. But, for purposes of analysis and for practical reasons, a typical household was assumed to have two incomes.
The gap between the income of the breadwinner and that of those who are not is 29%. Thus, a household that falls into the formal sector is estimated to have an income of $372,173while that of a family in the informal sector was $188,459.
– Basic Food Basket and Total Basic Basket: Therefore, a typical household with two workers in the formal private sector is needed 7 days to purchase a Basic Food Basket (CBA) and 16 days for a Basic Total Basket (CBT) which includes some basic services. In turn, a household in the informal sector needed 14 days to acquire a CBA and 31 days for a CBT.
-Rent: Taking into account that the average rent value of a 3-room apartment in the city of Buenos Aires reaches $150,000 in March 2023, in the formal sector, a person needed to work 22 days and a family like 12 days to be able to access a house of this style. In the informal sector, one person was needed 42 days and a family 25 days.
-University fee: the value of a university fee private high school simple dayand it was from $50,000 in March. To pay the tuition of a school-age child, a father in the formal sector needs to work 7 days and a family with two parents earning 4 days. In the informal sector, these values change to 14 days and 8 days respectively.
-Car 0km: according to the official pages of the automotive sector, the value of a new mid-range car was -in the third month of the year- 6,977,000 dollars. To buy this machine in the formal sector, a single person needed 1,021 days (about 2 years and 10 months) of work e a household with two taxpayers 581 days (about 1 year and a half). In the informal sector, a single person needed 1,962 days (5 years and 4 months) and a family 1,148 days (about 3 years).
-Motorcycle 0km: the value of a mid-range 0km bike was $600,000. To acquire this style of motorcycle a person in the formal sector needed to work 88 days, While a family 50 days. In the informal sector, a person needed 169 days (about six months) and a family 99 days (about 3 months).
-Mobile phone: the average value of a mobile phone from the main brands of medium range rounded up in March 2023 the $150,000. In the formal sector, a single person needed 22 days of work and a family 13 days to buy a phone of this style. In the informal sector, a person needed 42 days AND a family 25 days. If you want to reach for a high-end phone, the work days required have tripled.
-Family outing (cinema and food): the value of an output of a a typical family with two children in March 2023 was $15,440, including cinema and food. In the formal sector, a two-income household needed to work 1.3 days in order to have a typical household output. Those single-income families, on the other hand, needed 2 days to cover this expense. In the informal sector, a single-income household needs 4.3 days and a two-income household (head of household and secondary income) 2.5 days.
–The purchase of US $ 100 at the parallel exchange rate: The average selling price of the blue or parallel dollar in March 2023 was $381.7. This value is taken as a reference due to the complications of acquiring dollars in formal financial entities. The $100 acquisition costs approximately $38,170. In the formal sector, one person was needed 5.5 business days is one family with two taxpayers 3.1 days to access that amount of dollars. In the field informally, one person needed 11 days of work and a family 6.3 days.
NS
Source: Clarin
