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Economic
Freedom
of theWorld
Annual Report
James Gwartney,
Robert Lawson,
& Joshua Hall
with Scott L. Baier, Christian Bjørnskov,
Matthew Clance, Alice M. Crisp, Axel Dreher,
Gerald P. Dwyer, Nicolai J. Foss, and Kai Gehring
Most Free
2nd Quartile
3rd Quartile
Least Free
2012
Economic Freedom
of the World
2012 Annual Report
James Gwartney Robert Lawson Joshua Hall
Florida State University Southern Methodist University Beloit College
with
Scott L. Baier Christian Bjørnskov Matthew Clance Alice M. Crisp
Clemson University Aarhus University Clemson University Florida State University
Axel Dreher Gerald P. Dwyer Nicolai J. Foss Kai Gehring
Heidelberg University University of Carlos III Copenhagen Business School University of Göttingen
& Norwegian School of Economics
& Business Administration
2012
Fraser Institute ©2012 • www.fraserinstitute.org • www.freetheworld.com
Copyright ©2012 by the Fraser Institute. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in
any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in
critical articles and reviews.
The authors of this book have worked independently and opinions expressed by them are, therefore, their
own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the supporters, trustees, or staff of the Fraser Institute.
This publication in no way implies that the Fraser Institute, its trustees, or staff are in favor of, or oppose
the passage of, any bill; or that they support or oppose any particular political party or candidate.
Published in cooperation with the Economic Freedom Network
Editing, design, and typesetting by Lindsey Thomas Martin
Cover design by Bill Ray
Printed and bound in Canada
Data available to researchers
The full data set, including all of the data published in this report as well as data omitted due to limited
space, can be downloaded for free at <http://www.freetheworld.com>. The data file available there contains the most up-to-date and accurate data for the Economic Freedom of the World index. Some variable names and data sources have evolved over the years since the first publication in 1996; users should
consult earlier editions of Economic Freedom of the World for details regarding sources and descriptions
for those years. All editions of the report are available in PDF and can be downloaded for free from
<http://www.freetheworld.com/datasets_efw.html>. However, users are always strongly encouraged
to use the data from this most recent data file as updates and corrections, even to earlier years’ data, do
occur. Users doing long-term or longitudinal studies are encouraged to use the chain-linked index as
it is the most consistent through time. If you have difficulty downloading the data, please contact Fred
McMahon via e-mail to <[email protected]>. If you have technical questions about the
data itself, please contact Robert Lawson via e-mail to <[email protected]>. Please cite the
data set as:
Authors: James Gwartney, Robert Lawson, and Joshua Hall
Title: 2012 Economic Freedom Dataset, published in Economic Freedom of the World: 2012 Annual Report
Publisher: Fraser Institute
Year: 2012
URL: <http://www.freetheworld.com/datasets_efw.html>
Cite this publication
Authors: James Gwartney, Robert Lawson, and Joshua Hall
Title: Economic Freedom of the World: 2012 Annual Report
Publisher: Fraser Institute
Date of publication: 2012
Digital copy available from <www.fraserinstitute.org> and <www.freetheworld.com>
Publishing history
See page 309 for a list of all volumes of Economic Freedom of the World and associated publications.
Cataloguing Information
Gwartney, James D.
Economic freedom of the world … annual report / James D. Gwartney.
Annual.
Description based on: 1997
2012 issue by James Gwartney, Robert Lawson, and Joshua Hall, with Scott L. Baier, Christian Bjørnskov,
Matthew Clance, Alice M. Crisp, Axel Dreher, Gerald P. Dwyer, Nicolai J. Foss, and Kai Gehring.
Issued also online.
ISSN 1482-471X; ISBN 978-0-88975-258-0 (2012 edition).
1. Economic history--1990- --Periodicals. 2. Economic indicators--Periodicals.
I. Fraser Institute (Vancouver, B.C.) II. Title
www.freetheworld.com • www.fraserinstitute.org • Fraser Institute ©2012
Table of Contents
Executive Summary / v
Chapter 1 Economic Freedom of the World in 2010 / 1
Chapter 2 Country Data Tables / 27
Chapter 3 Institutions and Economic, Political, and Civil Liberty in Latin America / 173
by Alice M. Crisp and James Gwartney
Chapter 4 Banking Crises and Economic Freedom / 201
by Scott L. Baier, Matthew Clance, and Gerald P. Dwyer
Chapter 5 Does Aid Buy (Economic) Freedom? / 219
by Axel Dreher and Kai Gehring
Chapter 6 How Institutions of Liberty Promote Entrepreneurship and Growth / 247
by Christian Bjørnskov and Nicolai J. Foss
Appendix Explanatory Notes and Data Sources / 271
About the Authors / 285
About the Contributors / 286
Acknowledgments / 288
The Economic Freedom Network / 289
Fraser Institute ©2012 • www.fraserinstitute.org • www.freetheworld.com
Economic Freedom of the World: 2012 Annual Report • v
www.freetheworld.com • www.fraserinstitute.org • Fraser Institute ©2012
Executive Summary
Economic Freedom of the World
The index published in Economic Freedom of the World measures the degree to which
the policies and institutions of countries are supportive of economic freedom. The
cornerstones of economic freedom are personal choice, voluntary exchange, freedom to compete, and security of privately owned property. Forty-two variables are
used to construct a summary index and to measure the degree of economic freedom
in five broad areas:
1 Size of Government;
2 Legal System and Property Rights;
3 Sound Money;
4 Freedom to Trade Internationally;
5 Regulation.
An important anniversary
This year is the 100th anniversary of Milton Friedman’s birth. Milton Friedman was
the godfather of Economic Freedom of the World. He believed that, if economic freedom could be measured with greater accuracy, it would be possible to isolate its
impact on the performance of economies and other factors of interest. This led to
the Economic Freedom of the World project, headed by Milton and Rose Friedman
and Michael Walker, then executive director of the Fraser Institute.
Since our first publication in 1996, numerous studies have used data from
Economic Freedom of the World to examine the impact of economic freedom on
investment, economic growth, income levels, and poverty rates. Virtually without
exception, these studies have found that countries with institutions and policies
more consistent with economic freedom have higher investment rates, more rapid
economic growth, higher income levels, and more rapid reductions in poverty rates.
Economic freedom from around the world
• In the chain-linked index, average economic freedom rose from 5.30 (out of 10) in
1980 to 6.88 in 2007. It then fell for two consecutive years, resulting in a score of
6.79 in 2009 but has risen slightly to 6.83 in 2010, the most recent year available.
It appears that responses to the economic crisis have reduced economic freedom
in the short term and perhaps prosperity over the long term, but the upward
movement this year is encouraging.
vi • Economic Freedom of the World: 2012 Annual Report
Fraser Institute ©2012 • www.fraserinstitute.org • www.freetheworld.com
• In this year’s index, Hong Kong retains the highest rating for economic freedom,
8.90 out of 10. The other top 10 nations are: Singapore, 8.69; New Zealand, 8.36;
Switzerland, 8.24; Australia, 7.97; Canada, 7.97; Bahrain, 7.94; Mauritius, 7.90;
Finland, 7.88; and Chile, 7.84.
• The rankings (and scores) of other large economies in this year’s index are the United
Kingdom, 12th (7.75); the United States, 18th (7.69); Japan, 20th (7.64); Germany,
31st (7.52); France, 47th (7.32); Italy, 83rd (6.77); Mexico, 91st, (6.66); Russia, 95th
(6.56); Brazil, 105th (6.37); China, 107th (6.35); and India, 111th (6.26).
• The scores of the bottom ten nations in this year’s index are: Venezuela, 4.07;
Myanmar, 4.29; Zimbabwe, 4.35; Republic of the Congo, 4.86; Angola, 5.12;
Democratic Republic of the Congo, 5.18; Guinea-Bissau, 5.23; Algeria, 5.34; Chad,
5.41; and, tied for 10th worst, Mozambique and Burundi, 5.45.
• The United States, long considered the standard bearer for economic freedom
among large industrial nations, has experienced a substantial decline in economic
freedom during the past decade. From 1980 to 2000, the United States was generally
rated the third freest economy in the world, ranking behind only Hong Kong and
Singapore. After increasing steadily during the period from 1980 to 2000, the chainlinked EFW rating of the United States fell from 8.65 in 2000 to 8.21 in 2005 and
7.70 in 2010. The chain-linked ranking of the United States has fallen precipitously
from second in 2000 to eighth in 2005 and 19th in 2010 (unadjusted ranking of 18th).
Nations that are economically free out-perform
non-free nations in indicators of well-being
• Nations in the top quartile of economic freedom had an average per-capita GDP of
$37,691 in 2010, compared to $5,188 for bottom quartile nations in 2010 current
international dollars (Exhibit 1.7).
• In the top quartile, the average income of the poorest 10% was $11,382, compared to $1,209 in the bottom in 2010 current international dollars (Exhibit 1.10).
Interestingly, the average income of the poorest 10% in the most economically free
nations is more than twice the overall average income in the least free nations.
• Life expectancy is 79.5 years in the top quartile compared to 61.6 years in the
bottom quartile (Exhibit 1.11).
• Political and civil liberties are considerably higher in economically free nations than
in unfree nations (Exhibit 1.12).
Chapter 1: Economic Freedom of the World in 2010
The authors of the report, James Gwartney (Florida State University), Robert
Lawson (Southern Methodist University), and Joshua Hall (Beloit College) provide an overview of the report and discuss why economic freedom is important.
They also consider the key factors underlying the decline in economic freedom of
the United States since 2000.
Economic Freedom of the World: 2012 Annual Report • vii
www.freetheworld.com • www.fraserinstitute.org • Fraser Institute ©2012
Chapter 2: Country Data Tables
Detailed historical information is provided for each of the 144 countries and territories in the index.
Chapter 3: Institutions and Economic, Political,
and Civil Liberty in Latin America
In this chapter, Alice M. Crisp and James Gwartney take a closer look at the economic, political, and civil institutions of 22 Latin American countries. These institutions are interrelated and they work as a combination to influence economic
performance. To a large degree, researchers know the bundle of economic institutions and policies that lead to economic growth and prosperity. But economic
institutions are an outgrowth of the political process. Similarly, civil liberties influence the public discourse and thereby have an impact on both economic and political decision-making. The quality of economic and political institutions is generally
related. In Latin America, five countries—Chile, Peru, Panama, Trinidad & Tobago,
and Uruguay—rank in the top eight in both economic and political institutional
quality. Similarly, six countries—Venezuela, Ecuador, Haiti, Bolivia, Guyana, and
Honduras—rank in the bottom eight in both the economic and political categories. The chapter provides detailed information on the strengths and weaknesses
and changes in the institutional quality of Latin American countries during the
past two decades.
Chapter 4: Banking Crises and Economic Freedom
Scott L. Baier, Matthew Clance, and Gerald P. Dwyer examine the connection
between banking crises and measures of economic freedom from Economic
Freedom of the World: 2011 Annual Report. They find that higher economic freedom—more personal choice, freedom of exchange, and protection of private
property—is associated with a lower probability of a banking crisis. This is contrary to conventional wisdom that financial “deregulation” contributes to financial
and banking crises. This finding appears in estimates from both a linear probability and a probit model and is also unaffected by inclusion of the growth of
real Gross Domestic Product (GDP), deposit insurance, time or country dummy
variables, or the level of real GDP. The authors also find that economic freedom
falls after a financial crisis.
Chapter 5: Does Aid Buy (Economic) Freedom?
In this chapter, Axel Dreher and Kai Gehring survey the literature investigating the
effects of development aid on economic freedom. The authors discuss the theoretical channels by which development aid can affect freedom and review the existing
empirical literature. Overall, this literature does not establish a final answer to the
question of whether aid works. However, multilateral aid seems to be more effective in increasing freedom than bilateral aid, and aid disbursed in the period after
the Cold War seems to be more effective as well. This highlights the importance of
changes in the prevailing aid paradigm over time when analyzing the effectiveness
of aid. Moreover, the authors stress that a unified framework is required to conclusively investigate the effect of aid on freedom, including a common sample and
method of estimation, common control variables, and changing one parameter of
the empirical setup at a time rather than all of them together.
viii • Economic Freedom of the World: 2012 Annual Report
Fraser Institute ©2012 • www.fraserinstitute.org • www.freetheworld.com
Chapter 6: How Institutions of Liberty Promote
Entrepreneurship and Growth
Christian Bjørnskov and Nicolai J. Foss report on previous research on the links
between institutions of freedom, entrepreneurship, and economic growth and add
some new findings. Specifically, they discuss how economic policy and institutional
design affect entrepreneurship, and how entrepreneurship in turn affects total factor productivity. In a panel of 25 developed countries observed between 1980 and
2005, they find that government size and sound money positively affect entrepreneurial activity while legal quality does so negatively. Further evidence shows that
both entrepreneurship and legal quality exert a positive impact on productivity. The
main effects of improvements to economic freedom are mediated through entrepreneurship and are substantial.
Data available to researchers
The full data set, including all of the data published in this report as well as data omitted due to limited space, can be downloaded for free at <http://www.freetheworld.com>.
The data file available there contains the most up-to-date and accurate data for the
Economic Freedom of the World index. Some variable names and data sources
have evolved over the years since the first publication in 1996; users should consult
earlier editions of Economic Freedom of the World for details regarding sources and
descriptions for those years. All editions of the report are available in PDF and can
be downloaded for free at <http://www.freetheworld.com>. However, users are always
strongly encouraged to use the data from this most recent data file as updates and
corrections, even to earlier years’ data, do occur. Users doing long-term or longitudinal studies are encouraged to use the chain-linked index as it is the most consistent through time.
If you have difficulty downloading the data, please contact Fred McMahon via
e-mail to <[email protected]>. If you have technical questions about the
data itself, please contact Robert Lawson via e-mail to <[email protected]>.
Please cite the data set as:
Authors James Gwartney, Robert Lawson, and Joshua Hall
Title 2012 Economic Freedom Dataset, published in Economic Freedom of the World:
2012 Annual Report
Publisher Fraser Institute
Year 2012
URL <http://www.freetheworld.com/datasets_efw.html>.
www.freetheworld.com • www.fraserinstitute.org • Fraser Institute ©2012
Chapter 1 Economic Freedom of the World in 2010
This year is the 100th anniversary of Milton Friedman’s birth. Milton Friedman was the
godfather of the Economic Freedom of the World (EFW) project. He believed that, if
economic freedom could be measured with greater accuracy, this would make it possible for researchers to identify its impact on economic performance with greater clarity.
This has been the case. Since our first publication in 1996, numerous studies have used
data from Economic Freedom of the World to examine the impact of economic freedom
on investment, economic growth, income levels, and poverty rates. Virtually without exception, these studies have found that countries with institutions and policies
more consistent with economic freedom have higher investment rates, more rapid
economic growth, higher income levels, and more rapid reduction in poverty rates.
Nonetheless, the battle over the merits of economic freedom continues to rage.
Several high-income economies are now experiencing high unemployment rates,
sluggish growth, and rising levels of government debt. In spite of the evidence to the
contrary, many believe that the financial crisis of 2008 was the result of lax regulation and insufficient government oversight. Both central planning and Keynesian
economics have made a comeback. Budget deficits have soared recently to historic
highs, and popular Keynesian economists like Paul Krugman argue that the continued sluggishness merely reflects that the deficits have not been large enough
(Krugman, 2010, July 28). Democratic governments to a large degree centrally plan
key sectors of many western economies, including energy, health care, and education. Against this background, both the measurement of economic freedom and the
ideas of Milton Friedman are perhaps more relevant than ever before.
What is economic freedom?
The key ingredients of economic freedom are:
• personal choice
• voluntary exchange coordinated by markets;
• freedom to enter and compete in markets; and
• protection of persons and their property from aggression by others.
These four cornerstones imply that economic freedom is present when individuals are
permitted to choose for themselves and engage in voluntary transactions as long as
they do not harm the person or property of others. While individuals have a right
to their own time, talents, and resources, they do not have a right to those of others.
Thus, individuals do not have a right to take things from others or demand that others provide things for them. Use of violence, theft, fraud, and physical invasions are
2 • Economic Freedom of the World: 2012 Annual Report
Fraser Institute ©2012 • www.fraserinstitute.org • www.freetheworld.com
not permissible but, otherwise, individuals are free to choose, trade, and cooperate
with others, and compete as they see fit. In an economically free society, the primary
role of government is to protect individuals and their property from aggression by
others. The EFW index is designed to measure the extent to which the institutions
and policies of a nation are consistent with this protective function.
Why is measurement of economic freedom important?
Building on the work of Nobel laureates Friedrich Hayek and Douglass North, there
has been an explosion of research examining the impact of economic, political, and
legal institutions on the performance of economies during the past two decades.
Economists refer to this body of literature as the New Institutional Economics. This
research illustrates that institutions exert a major impact on cross-country differences in both per capita income and economic growth.1 Other factors, including
cultural characteristics, climate, and location may also be important, but institutional attributes generally have more explanatory power. Debate continues on the
set of institutions most important for the growth process and the cause and effect
relationships among various economic and political arrangements. Research indicates that economic institutions exert a stronger and more consistent impact on
economic growth than political democracy. However, the two may be complementary. Moves toward a more democratic political structure often occur either shortly
before or shortly after economic reforms. This has led to debate about how the
ordering of economic and political reforms influence performance and why reforms
occur in some countries, but not others.
The New Institutional Economics highlights the importance of the Economic
Freedom of the World project. The EFW data set provides the most comprehensive measure of the degree to which countries rely on markets rather than political
decision-making to allocate resources. Obviously, a reliable measure of the degree to
which countries rely on market institutions is central to the ongoing scholarly efforts
to disentangle the importance of both economic and political institutions as determinants of economic performance, as well as the potential importance of other factors.
How does democracy affect economic freedom?
A larger share of the world’s population now lives in democratic countries than at
any time in history. However, there is little popular understanding of the limitations of democracy and why, if unconstrained, it is likely to result in outcomes that
most would consider undesirable. A majority vote rule is a highly useful method of
deciding who will carry out the protective functions of government. But, it is quite
another thing to use majority voting to decide how resources will be used in the
economy. As public choice analysis highlights, majoritarian democracy tends to be
shortsighted. It is biased toward the adoption of programs that provide immediate,
highly visible, benefits at the expense of future costs that are difficult to identify. This
shortsighted nature of democratic politics explains why unconstrained democracies
throughout the world are plagued by excessive debt and unfunded promises. Budget
deficits, debt financing, and promises that cannot be kept without higher future
taxes are not an aberration. They are reflective of the incentive structure accompanying unconstrained democracy.
1 See Acemoglu and Robinson, 2012 for an important recent contribution that focuses on the role
of institutions in the growth and development process.
Economic Freedom of the World in 2010 • 3
www.freetheworld.com • www.fraserinstitute.org • Fraser Institute ©2012
Moreover, unconstrained democracy will enhance the power of well-organized
special interests relative to the ordinary citizen. Political incentives will lead politicians to “trade” favors to interest groups in exchange for political contributions
that will help them win the next election. When the government becomes heavily
involved in activities that provide favors to some at the expense of others, people
will be encouraged to divert resources away from productive activities and toward
lobbying, campaign contributions, and other forms of political favor seeking. All of
these shortcomings tend to corrupt the political process and lead even democratic
governments to adopt counterproductive policies.
However, research also indicates that shifts from authoritarian to democratic
political regimes often precede the adoption of reforms that promote economic
freedom. This raises an interesting possibility: perhaps democracy initially enhances
economic freedom, but with time, this positive impact reverses.2 As democracies
mature, interest groups become more powerful, transfers and subsidies more widespread, and the share of the citizenry dependent on the government increases. This
suggests that more mature democracies will tend to be characterized by declining economic freedom, a dependent population, and economic stagnation. Clearly,
these issues are complex and accurate measurement of economic freedom is an
essential element of scholarly research on these vitally important topics.
The Economic Freedom of the World index for 2010
The construction of the index published in Economic Freedom of the World is based
on three important methodological principles. First, objective components are
always preferred to those that involve surveys or value judgments. Given the multidimensional nature of economic freedom and the importance of legal and regulatory
elements, it is sometimes necessary to use data based on surveys, expert panels, and
generic case studies. To the fullest extent possible, however, the index uses objective
components. Second, the data used to construct the index ratings are from external
sources such as the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and World Economic
Forum that provide data for a large number of countries. Data provided directly from
a source within a country are rarely used, and only when the data are unavailable from
international sources. Importantly, the value judgments of the authors or others in
the Economic Freedom Network are never used to alter the raw data or the rating of
any country. Third, transparency is present throughout. The report provides information about the data sources, the methodology used to transform raw data into component ratings, and how the component ratings are used to construct both the area and
summary ratings. Complete methodological details can be found in the Appendix:
Explanatory Notes and Data Sources (page 271). The entire data set used in the
construction of the index is freely available to researchers at <www.freetheworld.com>.
Structure of the EFW index
Exhibit 1.1 indicates the structure of the EFW index. The index measures the degree
of economic freedom present in five major areas: [1] Size of Government; [2] Legal
System and Security of Property Rights; [3] Sound Money; [4] Freedom to Trade
Internationally; [5] Regulation.
2 This theory is highly consistent with the analysis of Olson, 1982.
4 • Economic Freedom of the World: 2012 Annual Report
Fraser Institute ©2012 • www.fraserinstitute.org • www.freetheworld.com
Within the five major areas, there are 24 components in this year’s index. Many
of those components are themselves made up of several sub-components. In total,
the index comprises 42 distinct variables. Each component and sub-component is
placed on a scale from 0 to 10 that reflects the distribution of the underlying data.
The sub-component ratings are averaged to determine each component. The component ratings within each area are then averaged to derive ratings for each of the
five areas. In turn, the five area ratings are averaged to derive the summary rating for
each country. The following section provides an overview of the five major areas.
1 Size of Government
The four components of Area 1 indicate the extent to which countries rely on the
political process to allocate resources and goods and services. When government
spending increases relative to spending by individuals, households, and businesses,
government decision-making is substituted for personal choice and economic freedom is reduced. The first two components address this issue. Government consumption as a share of total consumption (1A) and transfers and subsidies as a share
of GDP (1B) are indicators of the size of government. When government consumption is a larger share of the total, political choice is substituted for personal choice.
Similarly, when governments tax some people in order to provide transfers to others,
they reduce the freedom of individuals to keep what they earn.
The third component (1C) in this area measures the extent to which countries
use private investment and firms rather than government investment and firms to
direct resources. Governments and state-owned enterprises play by rules that are
different from those to which private enterprises are subject. They are not dependent on consumers for their revenue or on investors for capital. They often operate
in protected markets. Thus, economic freedom is reduced as government enterprises produce a larger share of total output.
The fourth component (1D) is based on (1Di) the top marginal income tax rate
and (1Dii) the top marginal income and payroll tax rate and the income threshold
at which these rates begin to apply. These two sub-components are averaged to calculate the top marginal tax rate (1D). High marginal tax rates that apply at relatively
low income levels are also indicative of reliance upon government. Such rates deny
individuals the fruits of their labor. Thus, countries with high marginal tax rates and
low income thresholds are rated lower.
Taken together, the four components of Area 1 measure the degree to which
a country relies on personal choice and markets rather than government budgets
and political decision-making. Therefore, countries with low levels of government
spending as a share of the total, a smaller government enterprise sector, and lower
marginal tax rates earn the highest ratings in this area.
2 Legal System and Property Rights
Protection of persons and their rightfully acquired property is a central element
of economic freedom and a civil society. Indeed, it is the most important function
of government. Area 2 focuses on this issue. The key ingredients of a legal system
consistent with economic freedom are rule of law, security of property rights, an
independent judiciary, and an impartial court system. Components indicating how
well the protective function of government is performed were assembled from three
primary sources: the International Country Risk Guide, the Global Competitiveness
Report, and the World Bank’s Doing Business project.
Economic Freedom of the World in 2010 • 5
www.freetheworld.com • www.fraserinstitute.org • Fraser Institute ©2012
Exhibit 1.1: Areas, Components, and Sub-components of the EFW Index
1. Size of Government
A. Government consumption
B. Transfers and subsidies
C. Government enterprises and investment
D. Top marginal tax rate
(i) Top marginal income tax rate
(ii) Top marginal income and payroll tax rate
2. Legal System and Property Rights
A. Judicial independence
B. Impartial courts
C. Protection of property rights
D. Military interference in rule of law and politics
E. Integrity of the legal system
F. Legal enforcement of contracts
G. Regulatory restrictions on the sale of real property
H. Reliability of police
I. Business costs of crime
3. Sound Money
A. Money growth
B. Standard deviation of inflation
C. Inflation: most recent year
D. Freedom to own foreign currency bank accounts
4. Freedom to Trade Internationally
A. Tariffs
(i) Revenue from trade taxes (% of trade sector)
(ii) Mean tariff rate
(iii) Standard deviation of tariff rates
B. Regulatory trade barriers
(i) Non-tariff trade barriers
(ii) Compliance costs of importing and exporting
C. Black-market exchange rates
D. Controls of the movement of capital and people
(i) Foreign ownership/investment restrictions
(ii) Capital controls
(iii) Freedom of foreigners to visit
5. Regulation
A. Credit market regulations
(i) Ownership of banks
(ii) Private sector credit
(iii) Interest rate controls/negative real interest rates
B. Labor market regulations
(i) Hiring regulations and minimum wage
(ii) Hiring and firing regulations
(iii) Centralized collective bargaining
(iv) Hours regulations
(v) Mandated cost of worker dismissal
(vi) Conscription
C. Business regulations
(i) Administrative requirements
(ii) Bureaucracy costs
(iii) Starting a business
(iv) Extra payments/bribes/favoritism
(v) Licensing restrictions
(vi) Cost of tax compliance