I find very hard to believe that it is just cost of living. I am more willing to believe that, instead of that, what happens is that people in China just expect to have less resources to live.
This opinion is based on my observation of how wages work in Argentina, in comparison with the US. Food (eating the same food) is cheaper in the US, rent (renting the same kind of appartment) is cheaper in the US, going to the cinema (same movie!) is cheaper in the US, buying a car (the same car) is cheaper in the US, buying clothes (the same clothes) is cheaper in the US.
Even thou, when I worked in a Boston based company they claimed that our salary should be lower because we had a lower cost of living. It is just that they can get away with paying us less. The chinese (or argentinian) cost of living being lower is a lie. It is just that we cannot do the things that USians expect and our salaries are reduced accordingly.
This opinion is based on my observation of how wages work in Argentina, in comparison with the US. Food (eating the same food) is cheaper in the US, rent (renting the same kind of appartment) is cheaper in the US, going to the cinema (same movie!) is cheaper in the US, buying a car (the same car) is cheaper in the US, buying clothes (the same clothes) is cheaper in the US.
Even thou, when I worked in a Boston based company they claimed that our salary should be lower because we had a lower cost of living. It is just that they can get away with paying us less. The chinese (or argentinian) cost of living being lower is a lie. It is just that we cannot do the things that USians expect and our salaries are reduced accordingly.