The Fraser Institute just published its Economic Freedom of the World 2016 Annual Report. The degree of economic freedom is measured using 5 broad areas:
- size of government (expenditures, taxes, enterprises)
- legal structure and property rights
- access to sound money
- freedom to trade internationally
- regulation of credit, business, and labor
The ten most economically free countries are:
- Hong Kong
- Singapore
- New Zealand
- Switzerland
- Canada
- Georgia
- Ireland
- Mauritius
- United Arab Emirates
- Australia (United Kingdom was tied with Australia)[ref]The United States currently resides at #16.[/ref]
One of the most important findings of past reports that is once again confirmed in the latest is the following:
The share of income earned by the poorest 10% of the population is virtually the same from the least (2.45%) to the most (2.75%) free countries. It is unaffected by economic freedom. But, as shown above, the amount of income earned by the poorest 10% of the population is significantly higher in freer countries. In other words, the poorest of the population are better off in countries that are more economically free.
The rest of the report includes articles on gender disparity in legal rights, Venezuela, Ireland’s growth, and economic freedom in the United States.