Economic Freedom of the World 2009
Israel ranks 78th out of 141 countries.
Last year Israel ranked 75th, in 2002 43th.
Israel ranks 78th in the world in terms of economic freedom according to the Economic Freedom of the World: 2009 Annual Report,
released today by the Jerusalem Institute for Market Studies (JIMS).
In 2002 Israel ranked 43 rd but while other countries in the world have become freer over the past years, Israel has suffered from more regulation
and an ever growing public sector.
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.
Israel's rankings were significantly weakened due to Israel's oversized government.
One of Israel's lowest ratings (4.67/10) was in the rate of government spending as a percentage of total consumption.
Israel also loses points due to extremely burdensome tax rates. In term of size of the government, Israel ranks 130th.
Another very weak ranking for Israel is in regulation of credit, labor and business, only reaching the 96th place.
The best score for Israel was in access to sound money, Israel received a grade of 9.32 over 10 and ranks 31st in the world.
Israel achieved her best ranking in the area of international trade reaching the 29th place.
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 Angola and Myanmar.
The annual peer-reviewed Economic Freedom of the World report is produced by Canada's Fraser Institute in
cooperation with independent institutes in 75 nations and territories. It 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.
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.
Economic freedom is one of the key building blocks 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 more likely to be poor and to face a corrupted government.
The full report is available at www.freetheworld.com
Economic Freedom and World Poverty
The 2009 edition of the Economic Freedom of the World report includes new
research from Gwartney and Seth W. Norton, professor of business at Wheaton College,
examining the role of economic freedom in eliminating poverty. They point out that
numerous studies have shown that countries with more economic freedom grow more rapidly
and achieve higher per-capita income levels than those that are less free; therefore,
it would seem that this growth should also help reduce poverty.
"If a country adopts reforms supportive of economic freedom, will the wellbeing of
the poor improve? Theory indicates that the answer to this question is "yes," but
substantial reductions in poverty are likely to take some time," Norton said.
"It will take time for the new policy direction to acquire credibility, investors
and other decision-makers to respond to the more attractive environment, and the rate
of growth to increase. As the higher level of economic freedom is sustained and the more
rapid growth persists, poverty rates will fall, and they will fall by larger amounts
with the passage of time."
About the Economic Freedom Index
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% of the world's
population for 2006, the most recent year for which data are available.
The report also updates data in earlier reports in instances where data have been
revised.
For more information on the Economic Freedom Network, data sets, and previous
Economic Freedom of the World reports, visit
www.freetheworld.com