9 — 
The wages payable for a normal 48-hour week ! are calculated 
on the basis of the data supplied by Governments. The figures 
taken for this purpose are generally those corresponding to 
the ordinary time rates for adult workers. In determining the 
purchasing power of the weekly wage so calculated, account is 
taken of the articles of food ordinarily consumed by a wage- 
earner’s family, and of the retail prices of these articles. In 
order to allow, at least partially, for the differences in the 
food consumption of the workers in the various countries 
under review, a series of typical food budgets has been 
prepared, one for each of the following groups: Belgium 
and France; central European countries; Great Britain; south- 
ern European countries; Scandinavian countries; oversea 
countries. 
The sum total of the quantities in each budget may be 
regarded as a basketful of provisions, the cost of which is de- 
termined by the prices current in the city considered. The 
cost of the basket constitutes the unit of measure in which the 
purchasing power of the nominal wage is calculated. The 
number of times this basket can be purchased by the nominal 
wage for a 48-hour week, determined as already stated, is then 
found. By taking as basis of the calculations for each occupa- 
tion and in each city the cost of the basket of provisions cor- 
responding to a given type of consumption, we get the real 
weekly wages, in terms of foodstuffs and on the basis of the 
type of consumption considered, of the workers in the specified 
occupations and cities. 
Making the calculations for all occupations, we get a series 
of averages. The relations between these averages can be 
more clearly shown by expressing them as index numbers; 
these are ‘calculated by taking as base the average real wages 
(=100) in one of the cities considered. In the statistical 
tables published regularly in the Infernational Labour Review 
average real wages in London at each date ( =100) are taken as 
the base. In addition, in order to secure a fixed basis for the 
monthly comparisons, average index numbers for the various 
cities are also calculated with average wages in London at 
1 July 1924 as base. Finally, in order to facilitate certain 
ER 
* Data published monthly in the International Labour Review,