21/01/2010 01:02:00
For over a decade, The Wall Street Journal and The Heritage Foundation – a Washington think tank – have tracked the march of economic freedom around the world with the influential Index of Economic Freedom.
According to the research, Macau is an open and service-oriented economy, with its services sector accounting for almost 90 percent of GDP and over 70 percent of total employment.
“Investment in resort and entertainment projects and related infrastructure has transformed the local economy into one of the world’s leading gaming destinations,” the research says.
The study measured the degree of economic freedom of 179 economies by assessing their business, trade and fiscal freedom, government spending, monetary freedom, investment freedom, financial freedom, property rights, freedom from corruption and labour freedom.
The Heritage Foundation recognised Macau’s low and efficient tax regime, respect for property rights and flexible labour market, as well as equality among nationals and foreigners wishing to invest in the territory.
It also acknowledged Macau as the world’s leading gaming destination that has attracted more foreign investment, spurring tourism and overall consumption.
In addition, Macau’s overall regulatory environment is transparent and efficient, as it takes three to four weeks to incorporate a company with a one-stop shop assisting investors with company registrations and other relevant procedures.
In the study, Hong Kong has been named the world’s freest economy, scoring 89.7 points this year, well above the world average of 59.4, while Singapore remained in second place and Australia came third in the study that covers 179 economies worldwide, in which mainland ranked 140th and Taiwan 27th.
According to the research, economic freedom is the fundamental right of every human to control his or her own labor and property. In an economically free society, individuals are free to work, produce, consume, and invest in any way they please, with that freedom both protected and unconstrained by the state.
In economically free societies, governments allow labor, capital and goods to move freely, and refrain from coercion or constraint of liberty beyond the extent necessary to protect and maintain liberty itself.
To analyse and rank the economies in the study, researchers measured ten components of economic freedom, assigning a grade in each using a scale from 0 to 100, where 100 represents the maximum freedom. The ten component scores are then averaged to give an overall economic freedom score for each country.
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