Economic Freedom of the World
The 2008 annual report on the Economic Freedom of the World is now available. The study takes into account 42 different factors to determine the level of economic freedom of the people in a country or the ability of people in a country to acquire, own, and sell property. The report measures the level of economic freedom in 141 countries around the world. Robert Lawson, a professor in the Auburn University College of Business, is co-author of this report.
According to the Fraser Institute’s Free the World website, “Economic freedom has been shown in numerous peer-reviewed studies to promote prosperity and other positive outcomes. It is a necessary condition for democratic development. It liberates people from dependence on government in a planned economy, and allows them to make their own economic and political choices.”
