Wisconsin Ranks 40th for Economic Freedom in North America
MacIver News Service | December 26, 2013
[Madison, Wisc…] Wisconsin ranks 34th for economic freedom in the United States and 40th in North America, based on a new report from the Fraser Institute.The study, Economic Freedom in North America, looks at data available from the United States and Canada in 2011, the year Governor Scott Walker took office. The index is based on a 10-point scale that looks at the impacts of restrictions on economic freedom by all levels of government.
The report produced two rankings. The first ranking is based on an all-government level, and the other is based on a sub-national level.
Wisconsin ranked 40th in the all-government ranking and 44th in the sub-national ranking. Because this data is from 2011, it is possible that Wisconsin has since moved up in its ranking with the recent reforms enacted in the state.
According to the report, “the freest economies operate with minimal government interference, relying on personal choice and markets to answer basic economic questions such as what is to be produced, how it is to be produced, how much is produced, and for whom production is intended. As government imposes restrictions on these choices, there is less economic freedom.”
The full report is available here.