Blog Post | Cost of Material Goods
Two Centuries of Increasing Paper Abundance
If we're running out, why is it so cheap?
Gale L. Pooley
Blog Post | Energy & Natural Resources
The Simon Abundance Index 2026
Earth was 536.4 percent more abundant in 2025 than it was in 1980. For every one percent increase in population, global resource abundance increased by 6.31 percent.
A New Way to Understand American Abundance
Our index measures how long you have to work to buy what you used to buy.
Blog Post | Mineral Production
The Most Important Check in Economics
The Simon–Ehrlich wager and why predictions of resource scarcity keep getting it wrong.
Blog Post | Cost of Material Goods
Ice Blocks to Electrons: The Rise of Refrigeration Abundance
Workers today get 214 refrigerators for the time price of one in 1925.
Rethinking the Cost of Living with Mark Perry’s “Chart of the Century”
Always compare prices to hourly wages to understand the true change in living standards.
Blog Post | Cost of Material Goods
The Steep Climb of Bicycle Abundance
Entry-level workers can get 20.9 bicycles today for the time it took to earn one in 1910.
It’s Time to Shelf the Myths About Food Prices
Measure the time needed to earn the money to pay for a meal. That’s what matters.