Economic Freedom of the World
2007 Report Launched
To
contribute to the
informed economic
debate in the Philippines, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation
(FNF) together with the Foundation for Economic Freedom (FEF) and
the
Center for Research and Communication
(CRC) launched the
first Philippine edition of
the
Economic Freedom of
World (EFW) 2007 report to business leaders, policy-makers
and members of civil society and the academe on 4 September 2007
in Makati City.
Dr. Emilio Antonio Jr., president of CRC, opened the launch by
stating that the Economic Freedom Index is constructed to give
data on “what economic freedom means, how a country
measures up to such definition, how it compares to other countries,
how it is proceeding through time and what can be done
to improve the current situation.” FEF President
Alex Magno, on the other hand, spoke on the downward slide
of the Philippines after 1992 from number 26 among all economies
measured by the Index, to 69 in the latest report.
He joked that this slip shows that FEF has not been doing its
job well, although the launch is part of its effort to educate
the public and the government. “There is much to learn from
the mass of information in the Index that will help reduce
the volume of economic superstition that continues
to bedevil Filipino public opinion and policy-making,” Magno
said.
“The real strength of the EFW report is its academic rigor,”
said FNF Resident Representative Siegfried Herzog. “It’s
an empirical test to show that the economic freedom
desired by liberals does indeed correspond to better development
outcomes,” he said.
The EFW is an annual report that discusses the degree of economic
freedom around the world based on a composite Index that includes:
size of government, legal structure and security of property rights,
access to sound money, freedom to trade internationally and regulation
of credit, labor and business in 141 nations. The report also compares
economic freedom and other desirable outcomes, such as prosperity
or quality of life, as measured by the UNDP
Human Development
report. It
finds a strong correlation between economic freedom
and various important developmental goals.
The Index has become an important tool to evaluate economic policy
worldwide. It has been replicated in several federally
structured countries to compare the economic freedom
and developmental performance of different provinces (China, Canada)
or states (US, India and Germany), with similar results: Economic
freedom delivers the goods.
To read Dr. Antonio’s remarks and to view Professor Magno’s
presentation, please click here.
Please e-mail your name and address to
liberal@philippines.fnst.org if you wish to receive a free
copy of the EFW report.
