Economic Freedom

Economic Freedom of the Arab World: 2014 Annual Report

— Nov 19, 2014

Jordan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are the most economically free nations in the Arab world, finds a new report by Salem Ben Nasser Al Ismaily, Azzan Al-Busaidi, Miguel Cervantes, and Fred McMahon. This report, Economic Freedom of the Arab World: 2014 Annual Report, compares and ranks 22 Arab nations in five areas of economic freedom: size of government, including expenditures, taxes and enterprises; commercial and economic law and security of property rights; access to sound money; freedom to trade internationally; and regulation of credit, labour and business.

Economic Freedom of the World: 2014 Annual Report

— Oct 7, 2014

Once again, Canada ranks among the world’s most economically free countries, ranking seventh overall according to the Fraser Institute’s annual Economic Freedom of the World report, released today at an international event in Brussels. The report measures the economic freedom (levels of personal choice, ability to enter markets, security of privately owned property, rule of law, etc.) by analyzing the policies and institutions of 151 countries and Hong Kong.

Institutions and Economic, Political, and Civil Liberty in the Arab World

— Jul 21, 2014

The Arab Spring disrupted an already turbulent region. A denial of economic freedom launched the Arab Spring but despite this origin, little economic thought has emerged in its wake. This lack of an economic policy vision may be under-appreciated and will make economic reform more difficult and create barriers to fulfilling aspirations for other freedoms and democracy. As global experience has shown, economic reform is important not just for its own sake but also for promoting and enabling other reforms.

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Free markets and civil peace

— Jun 26, 2014

Higher levels of economic freedom can help reduce the risk of violent conflict in countries around the world, finds a new study by Fred McMahon, Indra de Soysa, and Krishna Chaitanya Vadlamannati.

The essay, Free Markets and Civil Peace, examines the relationship between economic freedom, which is measured by several factors (trade openness, level of government involvement in the economy, level of judicial independence), and civil unrest.

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Economic Freedom and Air Quality

— Apr 22, 2014

It is well established that economic freedom is one of the main drivers of economic prosperity. Economic freedom is the extent to which you can pursue economic activity without government interference as long as your actions dont violate the rights of others. Pollution is generally given as an example of a situation where the economic actions of one person violates the rights of others, thus justifying government intervention. However, the same economic institutions that contribute to economic freedom may actually lead to a cleaner environment at the same time.

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Economic Freedom of North America: 2013 Annual Report

— Dec 12, 2013

This is the ninth edition of the annual report, Economic Freedom of North America. The results of this years study confirm those published in the previous eight editions: economic freedom is a powerful driver of growth and prosperity. Those provinces and states that have low levels of economic freedom continue to leave their citizens poorer than they need or should be.

Economic Freedom of the Arab World: 2013 Annual Report

— Nov 26, 2013

This is the tenth report on economic freedom in the Arab world and is published in conjunction with the International Research Foundation (IRF) of Oman and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty.