The Tribune

THE Bahamas has been ranked 39th out of 152 nations included in the Economic Freedom of the World: 2013 Annual Report, which has been released today by the Nassau Institute.

According to the report, the Bahamas’ size of government ranking remained unchanged at 8.2 from 2012’s report.

The legal system and property rights also remained unchanged with a 6.6 ranking.

However, the Bahamas’ rating for access to sound money fell from 7.1 to 7.2, although freedom to trade internationally rose to 6.3 from 5.95.

The regulation of credit, labour and business remained unchanged at 8.8.

The end result is that the Bahamas now ranks in the top quartile of countries in terms of economic freedom.

The annual Economic Freedom of the World report is produced by the Fraser Institute, a Canadian think-tank, in cooperation with the Economic Freedom Network, a group of independent research and educational institutes in nearly 90 nations and territories worldwide.

It is the world’s premier measurement of economic freedom, using 42 distinct variables to create an index ranking countries around the world based on policies that encourage economic freedom.

Economic freedom is measured in five different areas: Size of government, Legal structure and security of property rights, Access to sound money, Freedom to trade internationally, and Regulation of credit, labour and business.

Hong Kong again topped the rankings of 151 countries and territories, followed by Singapore, New Zealand, and Switzerland. Globally, the average economic freedom score rose slightly to 6.87 out of 10 compared to 6.74 last year, the report revealed.

The US now ranks 17th in the world.

Due to overspending, the weakening rule of law, and increasing regulations on the part of the US government, the US has seen its economic freedom score plummet in recent years, compared to 2000 when it ranked second globally.

Venezuela has the lowest level of economic freedom worldwide, with Myanmar, Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe and Chad rounding 
out the bottom five countries.

Some nations, such as North Korea and Cuba, could not be ranked because of a lack of data.

“The link between economic freedom and prosperity is undeniable.

“The nations with the most economic freedom also offer people the best quality of life.

“Compare the bottom-ranked countries, where oppressive regimes deny their citizens opportunities for economic growth and personal freedom,” said Fred McMahon, the Dr Michael A. Walker research chair in Economic Freedom with the Fraser Institute.