Senior managers in Hong Kong, Switzerland and Ecuador are feeling particularly satisfied this morning after a survey of senior management in 50 countries revealed they have the best purchasing power.
Tax, social security deductions and the local standard of living are all variables in the survey by Mercer's, the human resource consultancy. Germany and the US are ranked fourth and fifth respectively.
But while Hong Kong executives are the top players in terms of purchasing power, senior managers in India, Bulgaria and Vietnam are languishing at the foot of the table.
"It's wrong to assume that managers are well-off just because they are well paid, or worse off because they are paid less," points out Carlos Mestre, a European partner at Mercer. "Senior managers in the EU may earn some of the highest salaries in the world, but they also pay much higher taxes and social charges than those in many developing countries," he adds.
Senior managers in Uraguay are paid, on average, $37,362. Managers in Denmark, in contrast, are paid $93,797 - they are placed seventh and thirty-first in the rankings, respectively.