INDEX OF ECONOMIC FREEDOM 2017

Economic freedom index 2017

Question: What is India’s ranking in the 2017 INDEX OF ECONOMIC FREEDOM recently released by The Heritage Foundation?
(a) 142nd
(b) 145th
(c) 141st
(d) 143rd
Ans: (d)

  • On 15th February, 2017, The Heritage Foundation released the 2017 Index of Economic Freedom.
  • Among the 180 countries ranked, scores improved for 103 countries and declined for 73 (16 of which recorded their lowest Index scores ever).
  • Five economies earned the Index’s designation of “free” (scores of 80 or above), while the next 87 are classified as “mostly free” (70-79.9) or “moderately free” (60-69.9). Yet the number of economically “unfree” economies remains high: 65 are considered “mostly unfree” (50-59.9) and 23 are “repressed” (scores below 50).
  • Hong Kong and Singapore each logged increases in their Index scores, finishing first and second in the rankings for the 23rd consecutive year.
  • Five other frequent top 10 finishers — New Zealand (3rd globally), Switzerland (4th), Australia (5th), Estonia (6th) and Canada (7th) also improved their scores. A surprise newcomer to the top 10, the United Arab Emirates, improved its Index score by 4.3 points to take the 8th spot. Ireland (9th) and Chile (10th) saw their scores dip, but still managed to round out the global top 10.
  • India ranked 143rd in the annual index of economic freedom and falls under ‘mostly unfree’ category with score of 52.6 .
  • India’s score of 52.6 points is 3.6 points less than that of last year, when India was ranked 123rd.
  • Nepal (125), Sri Lanka (112), Pakistan (141), Bhutan (107), and Bangladesh (128) surpassed India in economic freedom.
  • China with a score of 57.4 points was placed at 111 positions. The United States was ranked 17 with 75.1 points.
  • The world average score of 60.9 is the highest recorded in the 23-year history of the index.
  • How it works:
  • The Index evaluates countries in four broad policy areas that affect economic freedom: rule of law; government size; regulatory efficiency; and open markets. There are 12 specific categories: property rights, judicial effectiveness, government integrity, tax burden, government spending, fiscal health, business freedom, labor freedom, monetary freedom, trade freedom, investment freedom, and financial freedom. Scores in these categories are averaged to create an overall score.
  • Based on an average score, each of 180 countries graded in the 2017 Index is classified as “free” (i.e., combined scores of 80 or higher); “mostly free” (70-79.9); “moderately free” (60-69.9); “mostly unfree” (50-59.9); or “repressed” (under 50).
  • The Index groups the world’s countries into five regions: the Americas, Asia-Pacific (home to nine of the 20 most-improved countries), Europe, Middle East/North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa (with the most countries recording notable score declines).

Reference:
http://www.heritage.org/index/about
http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/india-ranks-143rd-in-economic-freedom-index-behind-pak-bhutan-us-thinktank/story-qKL7Xb68M33eiVkSVhVzdO.html