The 2007 Index of Economic Freedom
This has just been released by the Heritage Foundation, and it makes for fairly encouraging reading. Countries and quasi-countries are ranked based on business freedom, trade freedom, property rights etc (plenty more detail on methodology here), and our friends in Honkers and Singapore come out in the first two places. I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but it should be noted that these two highly successful economies are wholly dependent on the enterprise of their citizens, lacking either natural resources or particularly helpful locations. Oz, the US, New Zealand and the UK round out the top six. Point to note, the UK would have done better but for a week showing for 'freedom from government' - 54.2 - which is the lowest in the top ten. In comparison, the good people of HK rate 91.6 on that measure and the US 67.5.
The wooden spoon goes to the 'Democratic People's Republic' of Korea, with Cuba, Libya, Zimbabwe and Burma not far behind.
I have downloaded the entire 2006 400 odd page pdf, so I may well return to this with further observations and analysis, but here is perhaps *the* killer fact: "The world's freest countries have twice the average per capita income of the second quintile of countries and over five times the average income of the fifth quintile of countries. The freest economies also have lower rates of unemployment and lower inflation. These relationships hold across each quintile, meaning that every quintile of less free econo-mies has worse average rates of inflation and unemployment than the preceding quintile has".
The wooden spoon goes to the 'Democratic People's Republic' of Korea, with Cuba, Libya, Zimbabwe and Burma not far behind.
I have downloaded the entire 2006 400 odd page pdf, so I may well return to this with further observations and analysis, but here is perhaps *the* killer fact: "The world's freest countries have twice the average per capita income of the second quintile of countries and over five times the average income of the fifth quintile of countries. The freest economies also have lower rates of unemployment and lower inflation. These relationships hold across each quintile, meaning that every quintile of less free econo-mies has worse average rates of inflation and unemployment than the preceding quintile has".
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And may I ask as to where India found itself?
By all means.
India makes 104 out of 157, better than Croatia, Russia and China.
The Wall Street Journal's report notes "Of course both China (ranked 119) and India (104) have a long way to go toward economic freedom but both have made big gains in recent years".
You are apublic Service C . This eve is my all evenng allowed to blog evening so I wil be browsing the last few days ,This goes into the ammunition for defeating lefties file.
To be fair can you show that the economic strength of the countries is actually caused by the economic freedom.
There could be other links
One does what one can... Not entirely sure I approve of being termed 'a web construct' by you Chez Fawkes though.
I will be out early evening, so no rapid response for part of it.
croydonian..
thanks for tht bit of info.. cheers mate
It would be interesting to see the breakdown of the UK regions in this manner; although I think I can guess the rankings..
Gordon Brown (Pomposity Be upon Him) - the Chancellor of the British Exchequer, for God's sake, has flung himself into the Big Brother row about an Indian candidate. Apparently she's an Indian movie star, and is educated, rich and beautiful and they have been slagging off her accent - which the left has immediately branded "racist". So now making fund of someone's accent is also racist as the government tightenes the screws on freedom of speech even further.
Anyway, G Brown, in India on who the hell knows what business, has now embroiled himself in interfering in a reality TV show.
I cannot imagine how we made it into the top six of the Heritage Foundation's list, with the government's sticky, bossy fingers in every aspect of life in Britain.
Let us fervently hope he comes down with a virulent bug in India and becomes dreadfully sick. Dead, even.
I see C. has been the subject of some discussion at Guido’s.
I am almost afraid to ask but does Turkey figure anywhere in that list?
Verity, apart from banal generalities and neatly-packaged moralistic sound bites, what else would you expect from Gordo? The git. And to think Janet Street-Porter was arrested today. So where does Gordo stand on that pressing issue? I expect Treasury press officers are beavering away on this as we blog....
I am counting on the efficacy of Indian bugs. Someone tell them Brown didn't believe in Freedom at Midnight (for anyone) and let us count on those patriotic bugs to do their worst.
Re Singapore, no, they have no natural advantages at all, except the huge, gigantic advantage of having had Lee Kuan Yew as their first prime minister and, of course, the intelligence and industry of their citizenry.
Singapore does not even have water! They have to import it from across the Straits of Malacca in giant pipes. Every time the two countries have a disagreement, Malaysians thoughtfully stroke their chins and wonder whether they should be exporting all that water when they might need it themselves one day.
The Singapore port is, I believe, the world's busiest port. It operates full steam ahead 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
LKY is the eminence gris(e) behind China's spectacular development. Not just him, of course, but he is very, very involved. He speaks fluent Mandarin, besides his own native Chinese language and he speaks beautiful English.
I too offer up supplication to Indian microbes to do the right thing by Dismal Gordon.
Johnny Turk comes in at 83, behind Kenya, but above Sri Lanka.
IT - Yes, I fear my name is being taken in vain. Still, it is all fun and games.
Just a bit of fun. All grist to Tim Ireland's paranoia mill I hope.
termed 'a web construct' by you Chez Fawkes though
Just whatever pops into head C. I thought you might like a little airplay.I am astonished that someone was able to pretend to be me actually linked to my blog.
I didn1`t think that was possible
"Brown joins Celeb BB race debate"
how about that for a politically correct headline on AL-Beeb.
hitch himself could do no better....
N - it was all thoroughly amusing.
Not sure how someone could use your identity unless there is a stray space or somesuch, as the spelling is correct. The construct thing was amusing, so no problem there.
CU - Hardly a debate is it? Rather some people complaining.
I hope the least Brown gets is Delhi belly. But I am placing my faith in the energy and efficiency of Indian bugs to do worse than that. These bugs are from a very old civilisation and they know what's what.
Newmania, I guessed that line about Hitch's "homophobic twaddle" and your owning a vibrator couldn't possibly belong to yourself. I sense the hand of John Hirst in this affair.
Yes C ,
Tim Ireland would like to do"things" to you )+:
Dont know why he picked on mr mania(other than the mania appealed to him)
Re: mr mania's complex new personality disorder: I fear the luckless Dr J has been stitched up on Guido as well.
Ahhhh..I see Nick . I did wonder about that , I `ve seen him before and he appeared a humorous and likeable fellow.
I really don`t think I can be bothered with Guido. You have axe murderers creeps and wierdos at every turn and I get enough of that at home.What you really need is gated drive with dogs and security men....
I hate anarchy. I worship order hygiene and purity.Strength and Joy and will.ACTION
I must suggest these policy directions to nice David Cameron
Guido does have liquidity, which is never to be sneezed at.
But if the well becomes polluted (and I don't particularly mean profanity), it will dry up: as with markets, so with blogs. And as a City gent, Guido lui même will know the dangers.
Hygiene indeed. There are all manner of dubious posts there right now. This open warfare may become very interesting.
Been watching 'The Triumph of the Will' have you N?
What's going on at Guido's that you're all talking about? I has all but stopped going over there because the I thought the quality of the commentariat wasn't that great. Too much smut with no wit behind it. I drop in about once a week now.
v - it's handbags between Guido and Tim Ireland. After weeks of relatively low-key feuding TI has made some rather interesting and very obsessive-detailed accusations against GF and his blogging, (including the taking in vain of the good name of Hitch), more than just the usual ad hominem stuff.
GF has been stung into a response this morning. Then the really strange stuff has broken out in GF's threads, including personation of friend mania and, if I'm correct, the hapless debutant dr J.
This quadrant of the blogosphere was clearly rocked on its axis, around the time SP imploded.
v - it's handbags between Guido and Tim Ireland. After weeks of relatively low-key feuding TI has made some rather interesting and very obsessive-detailed accusations against GF and his blogging, (including the taking in vain of the good name of Hitch), more than just the usual ad hominem stuff.
GF has been stung into a response this morning. Then the really strange stuff has broken out in GF's threads, including personation of friend mania and, if I'm correct, the hapless debutant dr J.
This quadrant of the blogosphere was clearly rocked on its axis, around the time SP imploded.
I had better go and check out Guido's site. I did know some of this, but it has escalated since. It's almost as exciting as Big Brother, with Gordon Brown's visit to India being eclipsed by Jade's bitchiness. Well, well..
It is a thoroughly rum business, is it not, ND?
If this is to be the Blogger Civil War, who are the Roundheads, and who are the Cavaliers? I would think that Guido's legion are temperamentally Cavaliers, but structurally we are more Roundheads. Perhaps I have just chosen a remarkably inapt metaphor.
Verity you must , keep visiting guido blog , within the next day or so you will see a very interesting bollywood film starring one Gordon brown.
Gordons dream comes true (+:
PHitch - I have just seen said film, it made me weep....
Rum indeed C & your simile (pedantry) is fair enough. Guido is both RC and cavalier, so there seems to be only one answer.
Wot on earth did you mean by "structurally we are more Roundheads"? am I being dull?
My hope would be that this is the kind of tidy, contained C17th / C18th conflict that doesn't result in starvation for innocent bystanders... as I said, unpolluted liquidity is the key.
N - I stand corrected. The 'structurally' referred to TI and his mob being the traditionalists, with Signor Fawkes being a radical and revolting against said tradition.
I was indeed being dull. And pedantic too, and rude to my host, in the same post, pretty reprehensible all in all
I would not wish to be inexact / incorrect in my use of language, so obvious typos to one side, I accept corrections graciously. After all, there is no virtue in beng wrong.
Just back the long way round from Guido. Yes, there certainly is a war, a war of words which is the cruellest kind.
I didn't know you were a sock puppet, btw.
Off to cook dinner now. Some people have to blog AND cook for a family. We are not all as lucky as you to have Mr R pop round with foie gras and white truffles. Yes, I've heard all about it.
Just back the long way round from Guido. Yes, there certainly is a war, a war of words which is the cruellest kind.
I didn't know you were a sock puppet, btw.
Off to cook dinner now. Some people have to blog AND cook for a family. We are not all as lucky as you to have Mr R pop round with foie gras and white truffles. Yes, I've heard all about it.
"This quadrant of the blogosphere was clearly rocked on its axis, around the time SP imploded."
What is SP?
Scotton Pinkney. (One of the personators loose on GF has taken to calling it 'SC', which is presumably because he/she/it remembers it wrongly as Sutton Courtney, or somesuch.)
BTW, the GF site hasn't taken a posting (across 5 fairly active threads of today) since 7:03 pm, which suggests it is closed for business, one way or the other.
Ellee - That Mr R is a useful fellow.
ND - All happening in the village is it? Scotton Pinkney is a wholly surreal collaborative drama. V - I think you might find it entertaining.
past tense, I am afraid C, there was the small matter of an explosion chez moi, Hitch's Bulgarian uncle (an Orthodox priest) had concealed a grenade in the priest-hole...
I have no idea whether SP archives can be retrieved from the ether. All is transitory, all is flux, (which may be just as well)
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