Hong Kong tops again in economic freedom report
Every year the Cato Institute, a Libertarian think-tank, releases an annual report ranking the economic freedom of each country in the world. Their 2008 Annual Report, released this month, once again has Hong Kong at the top of the list for economic freedom, followed closely by Singapore. New Zealand, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Chile, Canada, Australia, United States, and Ireland round out the top 10. No surprise to find a strong correlation between wealthy and developed economies and economic freedom. Finishing out the bottom 10 of the rankings starting with the worst first? Zimbabwe, Angola, Myanmar, Republic of Congo, Niger, Venezuela, Guinea-Bissau, Central African Republic, Chad, and Rwanda. Both sad and not entirely surprising that all but two of these countries are in Africa.
And just because the U.S. is in the top 10 is no reason to celebrate. As Cato’s blog points out:
Related Posts:In 2000 the U.S. was ranked the second-freest economy, but has fallen to 8th place this year. “The rule of law, government spending, and regulation are the areas where the United States saw the most troubling declines in its ratings this decade,” comments Cato scholar Ian Vasquez.
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