EIU's index measures the relative costs of doing business in 27 economies by compiling statistics relating to wages, costs for expatriate staff, air travel and subsistence, corporation taxes, perceived corruption levels, office and industrial rents, and road transport.

ECONOMIST: BUSINESS COSTS

In his book, Vedder cites Bureau of Labor Statistics showing that Wal-Mart's wages lag the retail-industry average by just a small margin, an expected result given that the bulk of its stores are located in low-income areas.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Using more detailed statistics and more sophisticated methods than the earlier studies, this work has tended to find that immigrants' wages take longer to rise to the level of natives' wages than had been supposed.

ECONOMIST: Workers of the world | The