Partner Briefing 

# Ranking Economic Freedom around the World 

Date and Time 

October 28, 2014 12 - 1 PM EDT 

Location 

Live Online 

##### Featuring 

[![Ian Vásquez](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2021-01/Ian%20Vasquez.jpg?itok=yBS_mzpm)](/people/ian-vasquez) 

[Ian Vásquez](/people/ian-vasquez)

Vice President for International Studies, Cato Institute

[ 

](https://x.com/vasquezian) [ 

](mailto:ivasquez@cato.org) 

[![Square face shot of Caleb O. Brown.](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2021-01/cbrown_sq.jpg?itok=zSWLm8kR)](/people/caleb-o-brown) 

[Caleb O. Brown](/people/caleb-o-brown)

Former Director of Multimedia, Host and Executive Producer, *Cato Daily Podcast*, Cato Institute

Adam Smith, Milton Friedman, and Friedrich Hayek all stressed that freedom of exchange and market coordination provide the fuel for economic progress. And as Cato’s newly released [*Economic Freedom of the World: 2014 Annual Report*](https://www.cato.org/economic-freedom-world)concludes, countries that establish and preserve policies and institutions supportive of economic freedom tend to perform better on indicators of well-being. The report, in its 12th year and copublished with the Fraser Institute, ranks 152 countries and territories on forty-two data points.

Hong Kong retains its number one ranking, but the top ten may surprise you. There are inspiring success stories around the world along with troubling developments, including the Untied States plummeting since the year 2000.

Which countries made the biggest gains? Where in the world are the success stories? How can the Untied States climb back into the top 10? Ian Vasquez, director of the Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, has been involved with the report since its inception and will join us to take your questions, discuss the conclusions of the report, and offer thoughts on the prospects for increased economic freedom around the world.

**Related items:**

- [*Economic Freedom of the World: 2014 Annual Report*](https://www.cato.org/economic-freedom-world)
- [Economic Freedom of the World: An Interactive Map](https://www.cato.org/economic-freedom-world/map)

This special online-only series is an opportunity to hear from Cato’s policy staff. Our thanks for your continued support of the Cato Institute. We hope you’ll join in on the discussion.

[![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/).