U.S. Economic Freedom Slips Downward Again in Global Survey/Europe Lags too
In a review of world economies, the Heritage Foundation, a Washington-based think tank, and the Wall Street Journal asserts that the American economy has declined in relative economic freedom and now ranks eleventh globally, just behind the United Kingdom. The survey used an extensive list of comparators which effect Entrepreneurship such as Regulatory Efficiency, Rule of Law, Limited Government, and Open Markets.
According to Anthony Kim, a policy analyst at Heritage, “The U.S. has fallen from the 6th freest economy in the world, when President Barack Obama took office, to 11th place today in 2016. America’s declining score in the index is closely related to rapidly rising government spending, subsidies, and bailouts.”
Regarding the survey Heritage says, “For over two decades, the Index of Economic Freedom has measured the impact of liberty and free markets around the globe, and the 2016 Index confirms the formidable positive relationship between economic freedom and progress.”
So let’s look at the numbers. The top five free economies are Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, Switzerland and Australia. Hong Kong, despite being a Special Autonomous Regions of the People’s Republic of China, still excels at entrepreneurship and retains the coveted number one ranking. Singapore, not surprisingly, comes in second and New Zealand third.
Canada, Chile, Ireland, Estonia and the United Kingdom fill out the top ten. In all these countries a commitment to open markets and rule of law has reinforced economic freedom.
Estonia, the tiny Baltic nation once ruled by the former Soviet union, is a particular success as a market economy given that the country had suffered so long under a static socialist system.
The USA ranks in eleventh place. The report adds, “Americans continue to lose economic freedom. Following declines in seven of the past eight years, the United States this year has equaled its worst score ever in the Index of Economic Freedom.
Ratings for labor freedom, business freedom, and fiscal freedom have flagged notably, and the regulatory burden is increasingly costly.” The survey adds however, that on the positive side, the U.S. prospers from open markets. Yet, free market capitalism, the elixir of growth, is under assault on many sides.
The report cites massive government spending and the rise of a regulatory state as hampering American efficiency and growth potential.
Among full list of 177 comparators, other E U economies,
Denmark and Lithuania come in 12th and 13th respectively while the Netherlands ranks 16th.
Germany and the Czech Republic place 17 and 21.
The survey shows that a number of EU economies are only ranked as Moderately Free with Poland coming in 39th but France lagging behind at number 75 and Italy at 86!!
