"Ukraine continues to suffer from very low levels of economic freedom". З економічними свободами не краще ніж з політичними
Ukraine continues to suffer from very low, but improving, levels of economic freedom according to James M. Roberts, Research Fellow at The Heritage Foundation, a Washington, D.C. think tank. His comments were made today in Kyiv during a presentation sponsored by the U.S. – Ukraine Business Council and The Bleyzer Foundation.
Ukraine's economic freedom score is 49.3, making its economy the 155th freest in the 2014 Index of Economic Freedom, an annual publication of The Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal. Ukraine is ranked 43 out of 43 countries measured in the European region. Its overall score improved by three points from last year but remains well below the regional and world averages.
"The Political turmoil in Ukraine is about more than just local politics and Russian political interference," said Roberts, "it is also a call for economic freedom. The Ukrainian economy has lost many of the gains it enjoyed after the fall of communism, although rising economic freedom in recent years has whetted the appetites of Ukrainians for more."
Over the 20-year history of the Index, Ukraine's economic freedom score has advanced by over 9 points. Score increases in half of the 10 economic freedoms include, in particular, gains in monetary stability and openness to global trade as well as more modest progress in fiscal freedom. Corruption remains a serious obstacle to economic freedom in Ukraine.
The Index of Economic Freedom ranks 178 countries in ten categories of economic performance: rule of law, regulatory efficiency, limited government, and open markets. The Index promotes individual empowerment, free and open competition, government transparency, and equal opportunity for all. Eight other countries are reviewed but not scored.
Hong Kong and Singapore finished 1st and 2nd in the rankings for the 20th straight year. The world average score of 60.3-seven-tenths of a point above the 2013 average-is the highest average in the two-decade history of the Index. Forty-three countries, including Singapore and Sweden, achieved their highest scores yet in the 2014 Index. Among the 178 countries rated, scores improved for 114 countries and declined for 59. Four recorded no score change.
The 2014 Index was edited by Ambassador Terry Miller, Director of Heritage's Center for International Trade and Economics; Anthony B. Kim, Senior Policy Analyst for Economic Freedom; James M. Roberts, Research Fellow for Economic Freedom and Growth; Bryan Riley, Senior Policy Analyst for Trade; and Kim R. Holmes, Ph.D., Heritage's Distinguished Fellow.
The full text, including charts and graphs, is available online
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