> November 12, 2002 > > Liberty = Prosperity > > By MARY ANASTASIA O'GRADY > > In the 2003 Index of Economic Freedom, released > today by the Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street > Journal, the big story is Europe. Six of the 10 > freest economies in the Index are in North America > or Europe and half of all "free" economies are in > Europe. European politicians may cling to the > rhetoric of socialism, but on much of that > continent, economic liberty is gaining ground. > > This year, economic freedom has advanced throughout > the world; every region has improved. World-wide, 74 > countries have better scores, 49 have worse scores, > and 32 have scores that are unchanged. Of the 156 > countries numerically graded in the Index, 15 are > classified as "free," 56 as "mostly free," 74 as > "mostly unfree," and 11 as "repressed." > See the 2003 Index of Economic Freedom1 > > > In Europe, capital-friendly Luxembourg is the freest > economy, ranking third in the world. Croatia, > Slovenia and Iceland made the most dramatic > improvements. Scandinavia, previously most noted for > its socialism, has continued a trend toward more > freedom, with four out of five economies there > ranked as "free." Competitive tax rates have helped > Ireland maintain its title as the Celtic tiger and a > "free" economy. > > The most impressive European story, though, may be > Estonia, which ties for sixth place -- out of 161 > countries -- with the U.S. and Denmark. In an essay > in this year's Index, former Prime Minister Mart > Laar details the country's journey toward freedom, > highlighting the importance of property rights and > the rule of law. > > Eleven Latin American countries improved their score > this year, and 10 worsened, making it the > worst-performing region. Chile dropped out of the > Top 10 ranking. Hong Kong is the freest economy in > the world and Asia has four economies in the Top 10. > But most of the world's repressed economies are also > in Asia. > > Why any of this should matter is clear in an > analysis between freedom and prosperity. > Economically free countries tend to have higher per > capita income than less free countries. For > instance, while Hong Kong's GDP per capita in 2000 > was $24,218, Iran's was $1,649. "Free" countries in > 2000 had an average per capita income of $26,855, > while "mostly free" countries had slightly less than > half that. This demonstrates that while some > liberalization brings rewards -- "mostly unfree" > economies averaged only $3,229 in per capita income > -- the gains from full liberalization are far more > impressive. > > Ms. O'Grady, who edits the Journal's "Americas" > column, is the co-editor, with Gerald P. O'Driscoll > Jr. and Edwin J. Feulner, of the 2003 Index of > Economic Freedom. > > INDEX OF ECONOMIC FREEDOM > The 2003 Rankings > > > > > > FREE > 1 > Hong Kong > 2 > Singapore > 3 > Luxembourg > New Zealand > 5 > Ireland > 6 > Denmark > Estonia > United States > 9 > Australia > United Kingdom > 11 > Finland > Iceland > Netherlands > Sweden > 15 > Switzerland > MOSTLY FREE > 16 > Bahrain > Chile > 18 > Canada > 19 > Austria > Belgium > Germany > 22 > Bahamas > Cyprus > 24 > Barbados > United Arab Emirates > 26 > El Salvador > 27 > Norway > Taiwan > 29 > Italy > Lithuania > Spain > 32 > Portugal > 33 > Israel > Latvia > 35 > Botswana > Cambodia > Czech Republic > Japan > Uruguay > 40 > France > Kuwait > Thailand > 43 > Trinidad and Tobago > 44 > Armenia > Bolivia > Costa Rica > Hungary > Madagascar > Panama > Qatar > South Africa > 52 > South Korea > Malta > Namibia > 55 > Belize > 56 > Greece > Guatemala > Jamaica > Mexico > Oman > Peru > 62 > Jordan > Philippines > Slovenia > Uganda > 66 > Poland > Slovak Republic > 68 > Argentina > Morocco > Saudi Arabia > Tunisia > MOSTLY UNFREE > 72 > Brazil > Colombia > Malaysia > Mali > Mauritius > Mongolia > Nicaragua > Swaziland > 80 > Central African Republic > Honduras > Ivory Coast > Senegal > Sri Lanka > 85 > Dominican Republic > Guinea > Kenya > Mauritania > 89 > Cape Verde > Croatia > Gabon > 92 > Guyana > Moldova > 94 > Algeria > Burkina Faso > Lebanon > Macedonia > Mozambique > 99 > Djibouti > Gambia > Indonesia > Pakistan > Paraguay > 104 > Albania > Azerbaijan > Benin > Bulgaria > Cameroon > Egypt > Kyrgyz Republic > Lesotho > Tanzania > 113 > Chad > Fiji > Georgia > Ghana > Niger > 118 > Ecuador > 119 > Bangladesh > Ethiopia > India > Kazakhstan > Nepal > Turkey > Venezuela > Zambia > 127 > China > 128 > Equatorial Guinea > Haiti > Togo > 131 > Malawi > Rwanda > Ukraine > Yemen > 135 > Republic of Congo (Brazzaville) > Russia > Vietnam > 138 > Romania > 139 > Bosnia > 140 > Nigeria > Sierra Leone > 142 > Guinea-Bissau > 143 > Suriname > Syria > Tajikistan > REPRESSED > 146 > Iran > Turkmenistan > 148 > Burma > 149 > Uzbekistna > Yugoslavia > 151 > Belarus > Libya > 153 > Laos > Zimbabwe > 155 > Cuba > 156 > North Korea > > > > > > Copyright 2002 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights > Reserved > > Printing, distribution, and use of this material is > governed by your Subscription agreement and > Copyright laws. > > For information about subscribing go to > http://www.wsj.com > > > > > --------------------------------- > Do you Yahoo!? > U2 on LAUNCH - Exclusive medley & videos from > Greatest Hits CD
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