Economic Freedom

Economic Freedom of the World: 2021 Annual Report is the world's premier measurement of economic freedom, ranking countries based on five areas—size of government, legal structure and property rights, access to sound money, freedom to trade internationally, regulation of credit, labour and business. In this year's report, which compares 165 countries and territories, Hong Kong is again number one—although China's heavy hand will likely lower Hong Kong's ranking in future years—and Canada (14th) trails the United States (6th).

The Determinants of Subnational Economic Freedom: An Analysis of Data for Seven Countries with Implications for Optimal Jurisdiction Size is a new study that examines if there is an optimal size for a subnational jurisdiction (states and provinces) that will maximize economic freedom. Covering a total of 158 states and provinces in seven countries, this study finds that provinces and states such as Ontario, California and New York whose populations have grown beyond 9.5 million people tend to have higher levels of government spending, higher taxes and less flexible labour markets.

This year's annual Economic Freedom of North America report, which measures government spending, taxation, labour market restrictions and other economic indicators, spotlights the 10 Canadian provinces, 50 U.S. states and 32 Mexican states.