For over a decade, The Wall Street Journal and The Heritage Foundation have tracked the march of economic freedom around the world with the influential Index of Economic Freedom. Read More.
In 2010, for the first time ever, the United States has fallen from the ranks of the economically “free” as measured by the Index of Economic Freedom, published annually by The Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal, falling below the cutoff that earns countries the right to call themselves “free.” Read More.
President Obama is hosting the 38th annual G8 summit May 18–19 at Camp David. It is expected to be “a short summit of less than 24 hours, yielding only a five-page communiqué.”[1] The deplorable reality is that in recent years, the credibility and relevance of the G8 summit…
Executive Summary In 2010, President Benigno S. (“Noynoy”) Aquino III made a pledge to voters: If elected, he would reduce long-standing and endemic corruption in the Philippines. While such reform is indeed underway, as the 2012 Index…
Abstract: Promoting economic freedom at home and abroad is essential to revitalizing the U.S. economy. In 2010, for the first time ever, the United States fell from the ranks of the economically free in the Index of Economic Freedom, and economic freedom in the…
If you were to rank the countries of the world in terms of economic freedom, where would the United States fall? First, or at least in the top three? The top five, surely. Because there is, in fact, a resource that ranks every country by this measure…
The world economy is in trouble, and governments are making things worse. Here's the story, right out of the pages of the 2012 Index of Economic Freedom, published Thursday by the Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal: "Rapid expansion of government, more than any market factor,…
Global economic freedom has declined over the past year as the tension between government control and the free market has heightened around the world. But why does economic freedom matter, and how does this decrease in economic freedom mean for America and the world? …
In this week's Heritage in Focus podcast, Dr. Kim Holmes discusses the 2012 Index of Economic Freedom, which he co-authored. David Weinberger hosts. To get regular updates on Heritage in Focus podcasts, visit our RSS feed or subscribe on iTunes. To listen to more Heritage Foundation…
Ed Feulner discusses the Index of Economic Freedom on CNBC Asia. …
The U.S. has a lot more in common these days with the struggling economies of Europe than we’d like to admit. High unemployment, stagnant growth and government debt that would take an entire year’s GDP to repay are all symptoms we share - symptoms of massively overloaded governments trying to…
Abstract: South Africa is one of the world’s largest exporters of precious metals used in a multitude of industrial and commercial applications. Continued access to this vast mineral wealth is vital for the economic security of the West.…
Abstract: Countries that receive U.S. foreign aid routinely oppose U.S. diplomatic initiatives and vote against the U.S. in the United Nations. While linking humanitarian and security aid to support of U.S. policy priorities would undermine the purposes and effect of that aid, the effectiveness…
Produced by the Center for Data Analysis - Delivered March 14, 2011 Abstract: Increasingly, policymakers are focused on entrepreneurial innovation as a key to unlocking…
My name is Ben Lieberman and I’m the Senior Policy Analyst for Energy and Environment at The Heritage Foundation. I’m proud to say that I’ve either participated in, or attended, all four of the Heartland Institute’s global warming conferences. If there’s a fifth and a sixth, I’ll be there, too.…
Argentina’s ranking in The Wall Street Journal/Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom—now 135th out of the 179 countries ranked in the Index—has declined steadily in the seven years since President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and…
Abstract: Backroom deals between members of the governing class and their hand-picked cronies influence the legislative, executive, and regulatory actions of governments around the world. Examples of this ancient form of corruption abound. Government intrusions into the private…
Abstract: Multilateralism is not an end in itself. It is one of many foreign policy tools, admittedly a very important one, in the diplomatic kit. For the United States, multilateralism faces its greatest challenge at the United Nations, where the all-too-frequent clash of worldviews…
The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum, more formally known as U.S.-Sub-Saharan African Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum, commemorates its 10-year milestone in Zambia on June 9–10. The forum is at its critical juncture as Africa’s place in the world has been rapidly changing. Despite some setbacks caused by…
There is one very useful thing about economic issues: Progress on them is measurable. Any presidential visit to Indonesia is certain to contain a list of “deliverables.” In the case of President Obama’s upcoming trip and the “Comprehensive Partnership” with Indonesia that he will launch, most of…
Abstract: The Heritage Foundation began ranking trade freedom around the world in 1995. The newest rankings (to appear in the 2011 Index of Economic Freedom) show global trade freedom as high as it has ever been. That is encouraging: Countries with higher levels of…
Abstract: The current U.N. development system promises too much and demands too little of its member governments. Its autocracy, secrecy, bureaucracy, and self-aggrandizement reflect the worst of its members. The U.N. Millennium Development Goals are noble aspirations, but they will not be achieved because…
Facebook's much-vaunted initial public offering is on the horizon and promises to shower a few lucky individuals with...…
[caption id="attachment_94279" align="alignnone" width="600" caption="Left: A city street in Libson, Portugal at dusk....…
This week, the U.N. will celebrate International Women’s Day during its annual meeting of the Commission on the Status...…
Echoing the findings of The Heritage Foundation’s 2012 Index of Economic Freedom, the latest edition of The Economist...…
Be sure to listen to our Heritage Libertad Radio Show. Click here to listen in Spanish. Click here to listen in...…
If the 2012 edition of Heritage’s Index of Economic Freedom has bad news for the United States, the news for Europe is...…
Heritage and the Wall Street Journal released the 2012 Index of Economic Freedom on Thursday, ranking 179 countries on...…
Yesterday, Heritage’s 2012 Index of Economic Freedom was released, and Africa features prominently. With an average...…
So you think you're free? Thanks to big government spending and exploding debt, the United States -- and indeed the...…
In this week's Heritage in Focus, Heritage's Kim Holmes, co-author of the annual Index of Economic Freedom, discusses...…
President
Vice President, Foreign and Defense Policy Studies, and Director, The Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies
Senior Policy Analyst, Economic Freedom
Director, Center for International Trade and Economics and the Mark A. Kolokotrones Fellow in Economic Freedom
Research Fellow For Economic Freedom and Growth