Hyper-Local Pay: AI and the New Cost-of-Living Index

For decades, governments and businesses have relied on broad, national averages to set wage floors, but in an era of extreme urban-rural divides, these "blunt instruments" are increasingly obsolete. This episode explores the transition toward hyper-local, AI-driven cost-of-living indices that can track the price of rent and groceries down to a specific zip code or neighborhood. We examine the technical infrastructure behind these real-time data pipelines, the legacy of localized movements like the London Living Wage, and the potential risks of creating "wage islands" and feedback loops in the housing market. Can high-definition economic data finally bridge the resolution gap between policy and reality?