The Index of Economic Freedom is an annual report published by The Wall Street Journal and the Heritage Foundation.
The index measures how countries score on a list of 50 independent variables divided into 10 broad factors of economic freedom. The higher a country's score on a factor, the greater the level of government intervention in the economy and the less economic freedom there is. The Heritage Foundation's view is that countries with the most economic freedom also have higher rates of long-term economic growth and are more prosperous than are those with less economic freedom.
These 50 variables are grouped into the following categories:
- Trade policy
- Fiscal burden of government
- Government intervention in the economy
- Monetary policy
- Capital flows and foreign investment
- Banking and finance
- Wages and prices
- Property rights
- Regulation
- Informal Market Activity (Black market)
Depending on their score, countries are then separated into four categories: Free, Mostly Free, Mostly Unfree, and Repressed.
Current ratings
The most current ratings are for 2005. Note: countries sharing the same rank received a tie score. For example, Ireland and New Zealand are tied for the rank of 5th most economically free country. Also note that a detailed description of the conditions in each country can be found here: [1].
Developments
- Overall, 86 countries worldwide are freer than they were last year and 57 are less free.
- The 10 most-improved countries this year were Madagascar, Ukraine, Poland, Bulgaria, Iceland, Indonesia, Hungary, Malaysia, Mongolia and Uzbekistan.
Similar Indices
- the Fraser Institute: the "Economic Freedom of the World Annual Report"; and
- the World Economic Forum: the "Global Competitiveness Report."
Research
Many peer-reviewed articles have used these indices. [2] [3] One question has been what subcomponents are responsible for economic growth. Strong property rights and low inflation may be particularly important. Regarding the size of government and free trade there is much conflicting evidence.
More economic freedom correlates with higher average income per person, higher income of the poorest 10%, higher life-expectancy, higher literacy, lower infant mortality, higher access to water sources and less corruption. The share of income in percent going to the poorest 10% is the same for both more and less capitalistic countries. [4].
Criticism
Some economists and commentators have criticized the Index on several grounds—asking, for instance, if Canada's slightly higher income tax rates make it a less economically free country than the United States. Critics of the index's methodology most commonly take issue with its equation of regressive taxation, low tax rates generally, and weak worker protection regulations with economic freedom. Some critics go further, saying that the index judges countries against a specious list of 'ideal' economic and fiscal policies, which reflect the Heritage Foundation and Wall Street Journal 's own laissez-faire economic and fiscal policy ideas more than they do a substantive concept of economic freedom. For such critics, the list is simply a promotional tool for laissez-faire policy, rather than a meaningful index of economically free countries.
In response, proponents point out that the indexes and their subcomponents have been used in much independent research published in numerous peer-reviewed papers. That the creators of the indexes support laissez-faire capitalism does not invalidate the empirical research. The appeal to peer review, based upon "independent" research or otherwise, is not so much a substantive answer against the criticism of selectivity in the definition of economic freedom used by the index, as it is a simplistic appeal to the authority of orthodox economics. John Miller, in a review of the index in Dollars and Sense reiterated the critique of the index's selective definition:
- "I must be confused. I somehow thought that an Economic Freedom Index would showcase countries that are reducing the democratic deficits of the global economy by giving people more control over their economic lives and the institutions that govern them. In the hands of the Wall Street Journal and the Heritage Foundation, Washington’s foremost right-wing think tank, however, an economic freedom index merely measures corporate and entrepreneurial freedom from accountability. Upon examination, the index turns out to be a poor barometer of either freedom more broadly construed or of prosperity." [[5]]