| The 2008
Index of Economic Freedom covers 162 countries across 10 specific
freedoms such as trade freedom, business freedom, investment freedom,
and property rights. View scores and rankings for any country, along
with detailed data and background analysis. [Visit
the Countries »] or [See Top
10 »]
The 2008 Index provides an even clearer picture of economic freedom by using data-driven equations which allows countries to be graded between scores of 0 and 100. We continue the tradition of equally blending "Ten Freedoms" to produce a simple, unbiased overall score for each country. |
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Stephen L. Parente Will today's poor countries catch up with the industrial leaders, or will they forever lag behind? The answer is that all countries have the potential to become rich. Rapid catch-up is possible; we have seen a number of countries do it in the past 50 years. Narrowing the economic gap requires certain economic reforms—reforms that are likely to be opposed vigorously by certain societal groups who rightly or wrongly believe these reforms will be to their detriment. Weakening and countering this opposition will be key to narrowing the gap. Guy Sorman What we call "globalization," one of the most powerful and positive forces ever to have arisen in the history of mankind, is redefining civilization as we know it. Globalization has six major characteristics: economic development, democracy, cultural enrichment, political and cultural norms, information, and internationalization of the rule of law.
This chapter analyzes each of the five geographic regions—a focus that matters for local competition. (Files below are in PDF format) The 2008 Index also has our traditional country pages, so that each freedom in every economy is explained in detail. Every country page includes new charts highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of each economy. |
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Review
the briefing: What's New? 
