[ivanhoe]

But that doesn't explain the incentive for Amazon to hire anyone from Costa Rica at 3x higher salary? If education/skills are the same why not just hire more Indians (or ppl from some other, cheaper Latin America country) and save a lot of money? Hell, they could easily open a center in many parts of Eastern Europe and still hire people for far less than those $800.

[karmakurtisaani]

There could be tons of other factors in play. Regulation, taxes, available workforce, etc. that guide decisions like these.

[Ancalagon]

I think the real answer is: The difference between $300 and $800 per worker for a program like this is _couch money_ for a company like Amazon. The value they will eventually derive from the data and profits is well worth whatever time savings they get from hiring someone in the western hemisphere I imagine.