It’s finally getting chilly in Toronto, and I decided to get shoes for my dog. Not so much because of the cold but more because of the defrosting agents on the paths. This morning, while walking along the Northern side of Lake Ontario, I heard some comments on the Index of Economic Freedom provided annually by the Heritage Foundation (click here). Like all rankings, you may be critical about the factors and methodology used. Also, of course, economic freedom in itself is not personal freedom. But it “kinda rhymes”. And then there are a lot of details to account for, like which part of the economy and what businesses are affected. You may be very free because your competitors are regulated, for example. Still, the trend shows that the world is getting less free. The top three countries are now Singapore (1), Switzerland (2), Ireland (3) and the region Taiwan (4). I can support this from my own experience in Singapore and Switzerland. It was one of the reasons why Swissforecast has been set up in Switzerland. Then follows New Zealand (5), Estonia (6), Luxembourg (7), and the Netherlands (8), all of which I conducted business myself in the latter three and found the environment and business culture very pleasant. Some people say EU countries tend to be dragged down by Bruxelles’ bureaucracy. It is a pity that the European Union, which started as such a great vision, is now merely perceived as a bureaucratic and undemocratic moloch. But it also has, of course, substantial cross-border advantages inside the union. That’s, I guess, what my British friends are feeling now.
In any case, if you can operate well in a less free environment, then you may turn this into a competitive advantage. For example, that’s what I think about doing business in China (154). I have seen so many successful entrepreneurs and companies in China that the complaints may come predominantly from the game’s losers.
On the other hand, Germany (14) is ranked predominantly free but has been turned latest since 2021 economically and socially into a nightmare. I regard countries. with a personal income tax above 15 % as communism. And then life depends on how much a government can deliver services and infrastructure. In the case of Germany, tax money is not employed so much to serve its citizens but to make them troubled by overburdened bureaucracy. The most significant budget is a redistribution into a social system, which gives opportunity for misuse. The opposition leader was once scolded for using the term “social tourism”, but it is obvious that there is a lot of abuse really happening. Germany is a fallen superstar like the whole country would be Franz Beckenbauer.
Now, I am in Canada (16) and looking over Lake Ontario to the USA (25). I was surprised to see Canada ranking higher than the US. For example, I thought the relatively high prices of mobile phone services may result from entry barriers into Canada. But I am just starting my North American journey, and up to now, I would not say I am really knowledgeable.