PPP game loaded with meaning

A new report by the World Bank's International Comparison Program (ICP) suggests that the purchasing power of the Chinese currency, based on 2011 prices, is significantly stronger than exchange rates indicate. If measured by the yuan's purchasing power, the report concludes, China will soon become the world's largest economy.

China's National Bureau of Statistics participated in the study, but rejected its conclusion, expressing "reservations" about the study's methodology.

The ICP provides useful data to compare living standards in different countries. But if it is used inappropriately to compare economies, the conclusions will be flawed.