Poor scorecards
Obviously, such market imperfections have not prevented the US from growing dramatically. But the US would solidify past gains -- and generate an extra future spurt -- if it learned from its Asian competitors and addressed its policy shortcomings.
The reason why many European countries are suffering economically is evident from their rankings. Germany falls among spots 22-24. Austria, France, and Sweden follow at 25-30. Italy and Greece lag even further behind.
As for the rest of Asia, although Australia scores 7-8 and Japan and Thailand earn passable scores, landing in the top 21, others did not do so well. South Korea ranks 47-48, Taiwan runs 51, China comes in at 75-77, and the three leading powers in South Asia, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan are abysmal, ranging between 86 and 96. Obviously there is much room for improvement in Asia despite its domination at the top.
Finally, there are the bottom performers. Myanmar is the worst, with several African states, Alba-nia, Algeria, Syria,and Ukraine close behind (a number of disastrously repressive countries, like North Korea, are not rated).
Economic Freedom of the World offers an important lesson for poor nations: they hold their destinies in their hands. The path to prosperity is simple -- liberty. Free their people to be productive and entrepreneurial, and their societies will grow prosperous and healthy.
Doug Bandow is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute in Washington and a former special assistant to then US President Ronald Reagan.
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