New Delhi: The United States, which claims to be the torchbearer of free market economy, on Tuesday dropped out of the top 10 most economically free countries, after seven straight years of decline.
According to the 2014 Index of Economic Freedom, released Tuesday by the Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal, the US is ranked 12th in the index, which indicates market-friendly policies in the country.
Hong Kong, meanwhile, has retained the title of the world’s freest economy for the 20th year in a row, with rival Singapore closing the gap between the two cities.
Australia, Switzerland, New Zealand, Canada, Chile, Mauritius, Ireland and Denmark make up the rest in the top 10 economically-free countries.
“For 20 years, the index has measured a nation's commitment to free enterprise on a scale of 0 to 100 by evaluating 10 categories, including fiscal soundness, government size and property rights. These commitments have powerful effects: Countries achieving higher levels of economic freedom consistently and measurably outperform others in economic growth, long-term prosperity and social progress,” the WSJ said, explaining the index.
The reasons for the decline of US?free market policies are not difficult to notice. “Even higher income tax rates exceeding 43 per cent cannot finance runaway government spending, which has caused the national debt to skyrocket. The Obama administration continues to shackle entire sectors of the economy with regulation, including health care, finance and energy. The intervention impedes both personal freedom and national prosperity,” said a report in the Wall Street Journal.
Apart from the US, the UK?has also suffered the most pronounced decline.
Both the US and the UK, which have historically championed free enterprise, have been relegated by Africa’s Mauritius, Latin Am-erica’s Chile, and East Europe’s Estonia.
