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Bahamas Ranked 53rd of 141 Countries in Economic Freedom
Related to country: Bahamas

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The Bahamas has been ranked 53rd of 141 countries in the Economic Freedom of the World: 2009 Annual Report released today by the Nassau Institute.

Last year, The Bahamas ranked 42nd.

The Institute noted in a statement that this year's report also includes new research that examines the likely impact of the global recession on levels of economic freedom. It suggests that economic freedom may decline in the short term in response to crises, but over a longer time, economic freedom has a tendency to increase after a banking crisis.

"Economic freedom is vitally important to building prosperity and reducing poverty so the finding that it may increase in the long run following a financial crisis is good news," said Joan Thompson, President of the Nassau Institute, a local research institute that promotes capitalism and free markets.

The report ranks Hong Kong number one, followed by Singapore then New Zealand. Zimbabwe once again has the lowest level of economic freedom among the 141 jurisdictions included in the study, followed by Myanmar, Angola, and Venezuela. The 2009 report is based on data from 2007, the most recent year for which comprehensive data available.

The annual peer-reviewed Economic Freedom of the World report is produced by the Fraser Institute, Canada's leading economic think tank, in cooperation with independent institutes in 75 nations and territories.

The Economic Freedom of the World report uses 42 different measures to create an index ranking countries around the world based on policies that encourage economic freedom. The cornerstones of economic freedom are personal choice, voluntary exchange, freedom to compete, and security of private property. Economic freedom is measured in five different areas: (1) size of government; (2) legal structure and security of property rights; (3) access to sound money; (4) freedom to trade internationally; and (5) regulation of credit, labor and business.

Research shows that individuals living in countries with high levels of economic freedom enjoy higher levels of prosperity, greater individual freedoms and longer life spans, according to the statement. This year's report also contains new research showing the impact of the global recession on levels of economic freedom.

"Economic freedom is the key building block of the most prosperous nations around the world. Countries with high levels of economic freedom are those in which people enjoy high standards of living and personal freedoms. Countries at the bottom of the index face the opposite situation; their citizens are often mired in poverty, are governed by totalitarian regimes and have few if any, individual rights or freedoms," said Thompson.

The Bahamas scores in key components of economic freedom (from 1 to 10 where a higher value indicates a higher level of economic freedom): The ratings in the five components of the Index are:

* Size of government: changed to 8.2 from 7.85 in the last year's report

* Legal structures and security of property rights: changed to 7.1 from 8.47

* Access to sound money: changed to 6.7 from 7.04

* Freedom to trade internationally: changed to 5.1 from 4.12

* Regulation of credit, labor and business: changed to 8.3 from 8.17

"Improvement shows in some categories; however, in the critical areas of Legal Structure and Sound Money it is disappointing to note that The Bahamas is losing ground," the Nassau Institute's statement read.

Economic Freedom of the World measures the degree to which the policies and institutions of countries are supportive of economic freedom.

This year's publication ranks 141 nations representing 95 percent of the world's population for 2008, the most recent year for which data are available. The report also updates data in earlier reports in instances where data have been revised.

The full report is available at www.freetheworld.com.


September 14, 2009

thenassauguardian


September 14, 2009 | 10:25 AM Comments  {num} comments

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