Bulgaria is 49th in the world in economic freedom
Bulgaria is ranked 49th out of 151 countries included in the "Economic Freedom of the World: 2013 Annual Report" prepared by the Canadian Institute" Frasier" and distributed to Bulgaria by the Institute for Market Economics (IME).
The report presents the picture in 2011 - the last year for which official data are available for all countries.
Hong Kong leads the rankings, followed by Singapore, New Zealand and Switzerland. For the year Venezuela is the country with the lowest economic freedom. The average score for economic freedom around the world rose to 6.87 of the maximum 10 points compared to 6.74 last year.
United States for many years been considered a bastion of economic freedom, is now ranked 17th in the world. In response over spending, weakening the rule of law and increasing regulation from the government, the United States rapidly fall down compared with 2000, when the country was ranked second in the world. The survey shows that the citizens of the countries with a high degree of economic freedom enjoy higher welfare, more political and civil freedoms and longer life expectancy. The foundations of economic freedom are personal choice, voluntary exchange, competition and security of private property.
Bulgaria is ranked 49th out of 151 countries surveyed with a score of 7.26 points out of maximum 10, which is a slight decrease compared to last year when the country was ranked 47th with 7.30 points. As a result of European Union countries ranged from 7.89 point in Finland ( seventh rank) to 6.59 point for Slovenia ( 97th rank). Bulgaria ranks 22nd among the EU countries.
Bulgaria's place is determined by the assessment of economic freedom on several variables: the size of government (6.64) - this indicator Bulgaria won the highest points for the flat tax. At the same time higher insurance burden and the large volume of government transfers and subsidies pull down results.
Legislative structure and integrity of private property (5.03) - traditionally this is the weakest area of Bulgaria . Independence and impartiality of the court are extremely low. Problem areas are complemented with a lack of confidence in the police and ineffective protection of property rights.
Access to safe and sound money (9.32) - In this category, Bulgaria gets the highest score. CBA continues to ensure sound money, and inflation is relatively low.
Freedom to Trade Internationally ( 7.60 ) - the result is due to the good performance in terms of tariffs in the course of international trade, as well as the negative impact of regulatory barriers.
Regulation of credit, labor and business ( 7.73 ) - the result is a consequence of the relatively low regulation of credit markets , while heavy regulation of labor and business . Low scores on this index reflect the high price of hiring and firing workers, the administrative requirements for business, bureaucracy and corruption in the country.
"It is disturbing that Bulgaria has made significant stagnation in the development of economic freedom. Seems governments in recent years will have serious reforms to provide increased freedom of citizens and businesses, and better management of the country. Despite the existence of stable money positive impact of a flat income tax, Bulgaria continues to be an example of inefficient judicial system, corruption and high control", said Zornitca Slavova IME.
The study outlines a shortcut back to the higher growth of Bulgaria - namely, by reducing business regulation, less government spending, shrinking tax and social security burden and ensuring the rule of law and independence of the judiciary.
Source: http://bg-daily-news.eu
(19.09.2013)