Economic freedom and prosperity

A new report by the Economic Freedom Network shows clearly the correlation between economic freedom and prosperity. It also shows that there is a definite growth of economic freedom in many parts of the world, particularly Eastern Europe. Alas, it then proceeds to show that there is no growth of freedom in the pre-enlargement European Union.
 
The UK comes joint third with Switzerland and New Zealand behind Hongkong and Singapore. By and large the new members had improved their standing in the last year, while several of the old members had gone down. France weighed in at number 44, the least free of the “old” European economies.
 
Of course, now that the East European countries are fully fledged members of the European Union, they may not find it so easy to keep their economic freedom going, particularly if they want to, as they say they do, join the euro in the near future.
 
Click here for an analysis of the study by Marian L. Tupy, assistant director of the Project on Global Economic Liberty at the Cato Institute.