Economic Freedom

— Mar 7, 2024
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Economic Freedom and Gender Norms

Economic Freedom and Gender Norms is a new study that finds that social norms concerning whether men should take priority when it comes to jobs, political leadership roles, and university enrollment are less likely to show a male bias in societies that are economically free.

— Dec 19, 2023
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Human Freedom Index 2023

According to this year’s Human Freedom Index, Hong Kong—which in 2010 was the third-freest jurisdiction on earth—now ranks 46th as a result of mainland China’s increasing restrictions on liberties in the territory. China is among the least-free, ranking 149th out of 165 jurisdictions this year.

— Nov 9, 2023
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Economic Freedom of North America 2023

Economic Freedom of North America is an annual report which measures government spending, taxation and labour market restrictions across 50 U.S. states, 32 Mexican states, 10 Canadian provinces, and the US territory of Puerto Rico, and found that this year, for the first time, every Canadian province ranks in the bottom half of jurisdictions, with Alberta (the highest-ranking province) only being tied for 31st place out of 93 in the all-government index.

— Sep 19, 2023
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Economic Freedom of the World: 2023 Annual Report

Economic Freedom of the World report measures the economic freedom of individuals—their ability to make their own economic decisions—by analyzing the policies and institutions of 165 jurisdictions. This year, for the first time in the history of the report, Hong Kong has fallen to second place overall while Canada has one of the fastest growth rates in size of government in the world.

— Aug 15, 2023
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Populism, Majority Rule, and Economic Freedom

Populism, Majority Rule, and Economic Freedom, a chapter in the Institute’s upcoming Economic Freedom of the World Report, finds that in the absence of strong institutional checks on government power, such as constitutional rules that protect minority rights and an independent judiciary that will enforce these rules, populism in government can lead to a decline in economic freedom.

— Mar 8, 2023
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Women's Economic Rights: Moving Closer to Gender Equality?

This year’s report, Women's Economic Rights—Moving Closer to Gender Equality? tracks changes in economic freedom for women around the world and finds that 13 countries improved their Gender Disparity Index score by relaxing legal restrictions on women’s economic rights from 2018 to 2020, while 42 countries imposed greater restrictions on women’s economic rights.

— Jan 26, 2023
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Human Freedom Index 2022

According to this year’s Human Freedom Index, for the first time since 2012, Canada does not rank among the top 10 freest countries worldwide.