 | Index of Economic Freedom (2013) |
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The latest rankings of trade freedom around the world, developed by The Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal in the forthcoming 2013 Index of Economic Freedom, once again demonstrate how citizens of countries that embrace free trade are better off than citizens of countries that do not. The 19th edition of the Index of Economic Freedom, produced by The Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal. The 2013 Index was edited by Ambassador Terry Miller, director of Heritage’s Center for International Trade and Economics; Kim Holmes, Ph.D., Heritage’s Distinguished Fellow; and Edwin J. Feulner, Ph.D., Heritage’s president. North America continues to be the world’s freest region, though Mexico was the only economy that improved its Index score over the last year. The region boasts two “mostly free” economies (Canada and the United States) and one “moderately free” economy (Mexico). It leads the world in terms of rule of law, regulatory efficiency, and open markets, but is getting worse where government spending is concerned. About the Index Launched in 1995, the Index evaluates countries in four broad areas of economic freedom: rule of law; regulatory efficiency; limited government; and open markets. Based on an aggregate score, each of 177 countries graded in the 2013 Index was classified as “free,” “mostly free,” “moderately free,” “mostly unfree,” or “repressed.” The broader areas are broken down into 10 measures: property rights, freedom from corruption, fiscal freedom, government spending, business freedom, labor freedom, monetary freedom, trade freedom, investment freedom, and financial freedom. http://www.heritage.org/index/ http://blog.heritage.org/2013/01/10/morning-bell-see-americas-ranking-in-the-2013-index-of-economic-freedom/ SOURCE: Heritage.org |
