Economic Freedom in U.S. on the Decline
Religion & Liberty Online

Economic Freedom in U.S. on the Decline

EFW-Map-300x217The Canada-based Fraser Institute has released the ninth edition of its annual report, Economic Freedom of North America 2013, in which the respective economic situation and government regulatory factors present in the states and provinces of North America were gauged.

After ranking 2nd in 2000, the U.S. falls to 17th in this year’s report. As the authors explain:

Unfortunately for the United States, we’ve seen overspending, weakening rule of law, and regulatory overkill on the part of the U.S. government, causing its economic freedom score to plummet in recent years. This is a stark contrast from 2000, when the U.S. was considered a bastion of economic freedom and ranked second globally.

A PDF version of the report is available here.

Joe Carter

Joe Carter is a Senior Editor at the Acton Institute. Joe also serves as an editor at the The Gospel Coalition, a communications specialist for the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, and as an adjunct professor of journalism at Patrick Henry College. He is the editor of the NIV Lifehacks Bible and co-author of How to Argue like Jesus: Learning Persuasion from History's Greatest Communicator (Crossway).