Greece has dropped 27 places to No.116 in the annual “Economic Freedom of the World 2017” report, conducted by the Canadian Fraser Institute in 159 countries.
In its report for 2017, which is based on updated data from 2015, the Canadian think tank said Greece fell 27 spots from its previous ranking, with the EU and Euro zone member state hovering in a position between Nigeria (114th) and Bangladesh (117) in terms of economic freedom.
The report mirrors the position of many domestic and foreign economic analysts -and the markets themselves-, that the left-leaning Greek government is increasingly relying on very high direct and indirect tax rates, instead of growth-promoting policies, to meet fiscal targets.
The index published in Economic Freedom of the World measures the degree to which the policies and institutions of countries are supportive of economic freedom.
The cornerstones of economic freedom are personal choice, voluntary exchange, freedom to enter markets and compete, and security of the person and privately owned property. Forty-two data points are used to construct a summary index and to measure the degree of economic freedom in five broad areas.
According to this year’s report, the five nations showing the biggest declines in economic freedom from 2000 to 2015 are Venezuela, Argentina, Bolivia, Iceland, and Greece.
The five nations with the largest gains in economic freedom over the period are Romania, Bulgaria, Rwanda, Albania, and Cyprus.
Hong Kong is once again leading the Fraser Institute rankings, followed by Singapore, New Zealand, Switzerland and Ireland.
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