Wednesday, November 13, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Tuesday, December 2, 2014
Hawaii ranks 40th in economic freedom
By Grassroot Institute @ 2:00 PM :: 5460 Views :: Economy, Hawaii Statistics

Hawaii ranks 40th in economic freedom, Texas and South Dakota most economically free, Maine the least free state

News Release from Grassroot Institute  December 2, 2014

TORONTO—Texas and South Dakota have tied for the highest level of economic freedom among all U.S. states, finds a new study released today by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank. Hawaii is tied for 40th on this year’s index of how the 50 states perform on economic freedom.

“In Texas and South Dakota, high levels of economic freedom help create prosperity and economic growth for working families,” said Dean Stansel, economics professor at Florida Gulf Coast University and co-author of this year’s Economic Freedom of North America report.

The report ranks jurisdictions based on their levels of economic freedom (measured by size of government, taxation and labor market restrictions) using data from 2012, the most recent year of available data.

The report’s American-only ranking system spotlights state and local government policy, comparing U.S. states to U.S. states.

"Hawaii's poor ranking--tied for 40th out of all states and in the bottom 3rd quartile overall--demonstrates the need for statewide economic reform," stated Keli'i Akina, Ph.D., President of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii. "If we are to strengthen Hawaii's economy and create a more welcoming environment for business and entrepreneurship, we must look to policies that will lessen the burden of regulation and government restraint on the market."

Following Texas and South Dakota, the top ranked U.S. states are North Dakota, Virginia, New Hampshire, Louisiana, Nebraska, Delaware and Tennessee.

Maine is the least-free state, followed by Vermont, Mississippi, New York, Rhode Island, West Virginia, New Jersey and California.

The report also has an all-government ranking system, which includes the 50 U.S. states, 32 Mexican states and 10 Canadian provinces. Overall, Canadian provinces Alberta and Saskatchewan rank first and second, with Texas tied for third alongside Canadian provinces Newfoundland and Labrador, and British Columbia.

“The freest economies operate with minimal government interference, relying on personal choice and markets to decide what’s produced, how it’s produced and how much is produced. As government imposes restrictions on these choices, there’s less economic freedom,” Stansel said.

In the most-free states, the average per-capita GDP in 2012 was roughly $55,000 compared to roughly $48,000 for the least-free states.

“The link between economic freedom and prosperity is clear—states that support low taxation, limited government and flexible labor markets see greater economic growth while states with lower levels of economic freedom see lower living standards and less economic opportunity,” said Fred McMahon, study co-author and Dr. Michael A. Walker Research Chair in Economic Freedom at the Fraser Institute.

The Economic Freedom of North America report is an offshoot of the Fraser Institute’s Economic Freedom of the World index, the result of more than a quarter century of work by more than 60 scholars, including three Nobel laureates. See the complete study at www.freetheworld.com

###

PDF: Economic Freedom of North America

Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii Military History

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Together

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

July 4 in Hawaii

Land and Power in Hawaii

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii