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Purchasing Power Parity

Accessibility of content based on price and economics is not something I’ve covered often, so I’m glad to have come across this really interesting article.

Sophia Lucero writes about a trend she’s noticed in online courses and magazines: websites are beginning to charge different prices based on where in the world you’re visiting from. They generally charge less if you’re in, say, the Philippines, versus if you visit from the USA, on the basis that it’s a lot more difficult for someone from the former to raise the same amount of disposable income as someone from the latter. This is well explained by the Big Mac index.

Many independent creators that are big names in the frontend world are offering this, from Wes Bos and Kent Dodds to Sara Vieira and Julia Evans. Sophia notes that they all seem to have rolled out their own implementations, based on their own “specific, personal reasoning that differed from one another”. There’s a certain amount of secrecy into the underlying methodologies used by some, as they (understandably) want to avoid being pulled into an economics fight. As a guide, you could use the calculator by Jack McDade, or for a (paid) automated implementation, you could use Parity Bar.

The decision to roll out PPP is, for many, an altruistic decision, and relies on honesty, since it is fairly simple to spoof one’s location. However, it has actually increased revenue for the creators (50% in the case of Chris Ferdinandi), as the fact more people can afford it means there are higher sales.

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