Economic Freedom

Economic Freedom of the World: 2024 Annual Report

— Oct 16, 2024

This year’s Economic Freedom of the World finds that most countries curtailed economic freedom in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic—and Canada is no exception.

View the Interactive Map, Graphs, and Dataset

Economic Freedom: What Is It? How Is It Measured? And How Does It Affect Our Lives?

— Sep 19, 2024

Economic Freedom: What Is It? How Is It Measured? And How Does It Affect Our Lives? finds that higher levels of economic freedom lead to much higher incomes and much better health.

Economic Freedom and Gender Norms

— Mar 7, 2024

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.

Human Freedom Index 2023

— Dec 19, 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.

Economic Freedom of North America 2023

— Nov 9, 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.

Visit our interactive Economic Freedom of North America website

Economic Freedom of the World: 2023 Annual Report

— Sep 19, 2023

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.

View the Interactive Map, Graphs, and Dataset

Populism, Majority Rule, and Economic Freedom

— Aug 15, 2023

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.

Recent Economic Freedom Commentaries and Blog Posts

U.S. election should focus or what works and what doesn’t work

Matthew D. Mitchell

Appeared in the DC Journal, November 4, 2024

When people are permitted more economic freedom, they enjoy higher and faster-growing incomes.

Economic freedom fell for three straight years

Matthew D. Mitchell

Governments financed this new spending by printing money and inflation spiked to levels not seen in decades.

Nighttime light intensity exposes failure of autocratic regimes

Vincent Geloso

Nighttime light is artificial so its level should depict—all else being equal—levels of development.

Bad government policy made Venezuela’s downfall inevitable

Matthew D. Mitchell

Appeared in Inside Sources, August 6, 2024

According to the United Nations, 90 per cent of Venezuelan households are impoverished.

New federal legislation should remind Canadians of Orwell’s 1984

Jake Fuss, Alex Whalen

The government wants to make speech crimes punishable by house arrest, jail time or electronic monitoring.

Canadians right to worry about ‘big government’ agenda

Matthew D. Mitchell, Jake Fuss

When governments limit economic freedom, citizens find it harder to buy and sell what they want.

Industrial Policy in 2024—another term for socialism?

Matthew D. Mitchell, Steven Globerman

Appeared in Inside Sources, June 12, 2024

In a free market, private individuals own the means of production but must take their cues from consumers.

Ottawa’s stifling policies will test optimism of Canadian CEOs

Niels Veldhuis

The success of any economy hinges on its institutions including its laws and regulations.

Oakville teens should learn about communism before promoting it

Matthew D. Mitchell, Steven Globerman

Appeared in the Toronto Sun, May 28, 2024

Seventeen per cent of Canada’s 18- to 34-year-olds believe communism is the ideal economic system.

Central planning from the inside—an interview with a Soviet-era economist

Matthew D. Mitchell

When more resources are controlled by politicians and the bureaucracy, there's more favouritism and discrimination.