Economic Freedom: The Key To Global Development

Each year the Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal publish the 160 country Index Of Economic Freedom rankings. The new rankings are now out.
This survey finds that the key to developing country growth is not World Bank infrastructure and education loans but good old entrepreneurship from its citizens.

Some emerging countries encourage new business growth at the grass roots. Egypt and Turkey are examples of recent rapid growth through releasing small business from bureaucracy.

Other countries stifle entrepreneurship and individuality. The low or negative economic growth rates of Venezuela and Burma are examples of this form of government control.

And some countries are improving year to year, moving up the Index of Economic Freedom, such as Vietnam and Mauritius.

The author of a 15 January 2008 Wall Street Journal editorial on this Index, Mary Anastasia Grady, sums things up this way, “Today’s entrepreneurs, across the globe, have similar aspirations and abilities. If only the politicians would let them be free.”

If you are considering doing business in another country, perhaps it would be worthwhile to find out whether new business development is encouraged or impaired by government regulations and controls.

There is a link to the Heritage Foundation web page in our link section. You can download the full 150+ country index and find out which countries are doing better and which you might want to give a pass.