14 January 2009

Economic freedom

The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank based in the United States has released its Economic Freedom Index for 2009.

graphic from Wall Street Journal

The foundation defines economic freedom as
The highest form of economic freedom provides an absolute right of property ownership, fully realized freedoms of movement for labor, capital, and goods, and an absolute absence of coercion or constraint of economic liberty beyond the extent necessary for citizens to protect and maintain liberty itself. In other words, individuals are free to work, produce, consume, and invest in any way they please, and that freedom is both protected by the state and unconstrained by the state.
The list makes sense with Hong Kong coming first, with its unfettered capitalism with little government interference.

It's quite interesting that the top two, Hong Kong and Singapore have issues being democratic. It's not all about money.

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Today was a very hot day.

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