How Free Is the State You Live in?

Yesterday, the Fraser Institute released its annual report, Economic Freedom of North America 2013. The report measures the impact government restrictions have on economic freedom in the United States and Canada, taking into account:

  • Size of government
  • Takings and discriminatory taxation
  • Regulation
  • Legal system and property rights
  • Sound money
  • Freedom to trade internationally

The research found a positive relationship between economic freedom and overall flourishing. The freer states showed higher growth rates, more entrepreneurial activity, and an increase in the growth of income in the lowest income quintile.

According to the report, the freest state is Delaware, closely followed by Texas and Nevada. The least free states are Mississippi and West Virginia, with New Mexico coming in dead last.

But to my surprise, Alberta and Saskatchewan were rated freer than any U.S. state. So the next time someone jokes about moving to Canada, I might take them a little more seriously.

How free is your state? See the full report and leave your comments here.

Continue Reading

VIEW ALL

A black leather wallet with cash next to sunglasses on a wooden table

A Biblical Perspective on Sound Money

Americans just received an unwelcome crash course in the importance of sound money. Inflation...

Empty desert highway stretching toward distant mountains

A Guilty Culture

Universities that once revered free speech are today readily adopting speech codes and censoring...

Overhead view of a person reading an open Bible at a wooden table

A Full Biblical Case for Limited Government

In this series, I have tried to present textual and ethical reasons for thinking...

Receive the latest news

Subscribe To Our Resource Newsletter

Get notified about new articles from the Institute.