Comparison of Venezuela´s minimum wage purchasing power with that in four Latin-American countries in 2008

This paper compares Venezuela´s minimum wage purchasing power with those in Argentina, Colombia, Chile and Peru, using data mining. Using Bayesian networks, it was found that the consumption pattern for the 108 goods considered is similar in these countries. The order of countries according to their minimum wage purchasing power from highest to lowest was found to be Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela and Peru. Results obtained by means of variance analysis pointed out that the variables that influenced the observed price difference between Venezuela and each other country are: type, origin and degree of necessity of each good, gender and, in particular, goods for infants and the elderly.