October 14, 2015 8:52AM # To Be, or Not to Be — Denmark? That, Apparently, Is the Question. By [Marian L. Tupy](https://www.cato.org/people/marian-l-tupy) --- SHARE For those of you who did not watch the Democratic Party presidential debate last night, Senator Bernie Sanders says he wants America to be more like Denmark. In some ways, that is an excellent idea. Denmark, it turns out, has [freer trade](http://humanprogress.org/story/2547) and [better business environment](http://humanprogress.org/story/2769) than the United States. Its [overall economic freedom](http://humanprogress.org/story/2145) is almost identical to that of the United States, as is its [well-being index](http://humanprogress.org/story/2472). But, don’t take my word for it. Look at the United Nations and World Bank data brought to you courtesy of [Human​Progress​.org.](http://www.humanprogress.org/) The one area where the United States might not want to copy Denmark is the [size of government](http://humanprogress.org/story/2549), which is a proxy measure of taxation and redistribution. 1. Free trade ![Media Name: 1m.png](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/wp-content/uploads/1m.png?itok=2yAzvNJq) 2\. Business environment ![Media Name: 2m.png](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/wp-content/uploads/2m.png?itok=PgD9Aw05) 3\. Overall economic freedom ![Media Name: 3m.png](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/wp-content/uploads/3m.png?itok=zN47y36-) 4\. Human development index ![Media Name: table.jpg](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/wp-content/uploads/table.jpg?itok=_Vem1NSE) 5\. Size of government ![Media Name: 5m.png](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/wp-content/uploads/5m.png?itok=ErFj9swL) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).