Ranking by Personal Disposable Income

choi

Sergiu George, MAP: Monthly Personal Disposable Income Around the World. Movehub.com, Mar 19, 2015
www.movehub.com/blog/disposable-income-world-map
("using data from 2014. In this context personal disposable income refers to the income per person after all taxes have been paid. * * * The world data was collected by Numbeo.com and adapted by NationMaster using a series of surveys carried out from 2010 to 2014 throughout each of the mapped countries. Data for North America was prepared by New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development and Statistics Quebec")

The last graphic is "Average Monthly Disposable Income by Country [in decreasing order]: Switzerland $6,301; Australia $3,780; Denmark $3,269; United States $3,258; Ireland $2,991; United Kingdom $2,960; Netherlaqnds 2,937; Germany $2,851; Japan $2,786; Canada $2,773; France $2,761; South Korea $2,174; Italy $2.117; Spain $1,635; Brazil $757; China $731; Russia %686; Egypt $264.

My comment:
(a) "personal disposable income refers to the income per person after all taxes have been paid"  

This is the correct definition of "personal disposable income."
(b) Ana Swanson, How Your Disposable Income Compares to Other People’s Around the World. Washngton Post, Mar 24, 2015 (appearing in "Wonkblog"--the name of a blog in the Post)
www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/won ... s-around-the-world/
("Monthly disposable income in Japan is roughly on par with Germany and France, an outlier in East Asia. The map also shows has China now has significantly more disposable income ($731) than other Asian countries")

The wonkblog repeats what is said in Movehub.com, except the remarks on Asia (quoted), South and Central America, and Oceania (with lip service, about a sentence for each).

Besides, the quotation for Asia is not correct: China trails South Korea and Taiwan (in that order).
(c) One should not be too serious with the data.

The problem is mainly accuracy of the data. I never use data from NationMaster, which are often wrong (at least untraceable) in my view. Besides, why would New Jersey spend time and money collect other states' data (and how).

Taiwan consistently has higher per capita GDP (PPP) than South Korea, and Taiwanese enjoy low tax, too.

(d) 6. Disposable income. In National Accounts at a Glance 2013. OECD, undated
www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/na_g ... na_glance-2013-8-en
("adjusted disposable income, which additionally reallocates 'income' from government and NPISHs to households to reflect social transfers in kind. These transfers reflect expenditures made by government or NPISHs on individual goods and services, such as health and education, on behalf of an individual household")
(i) Please refer to "Table 6.1. Household gross adjusted disposable income per capita."

I reproduce the data for select nations: In 2011 (the latest year the data is available; annual, not monthly) "US dollars at current PPPs": Australia 30 609; Austria 28 657; Canada not available; Switzerland $28,109; France 29 876; Germany 31 868; Japan not available; Korea 18 502; Luxembourg not available; UK 27 927; US not available.
(ii) Glossary:Non-profit institutions serving households (NPISH). Eurostat, European Commission, undated.
ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Glossary:Non-profit_institutions_serving_households_%28NPISH%29