introduction
Post on 31-Dec-2015
22 Views
Preview:
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
INTRODUCTION
Classifying Countries
By per capita GNI (Gross National Income)– World Development Report by World Bank
(http://www.worldbank.org/) By economic freedom
– Economic Freedom Survey by Heritage Foundation (www.heritage.org)
By political freedom– Freedom in the World by Freedom house
(http://www.freedomhouse.org/)
Per Capita GNI
Economies are divided according to 2000 GNI per capita, calculated using the World Bank Atlas method.
low income, $755 or less lower middle income, $756- $2,995 upper middle income, $2,996- $9,265 high income, $9,266 or more
Political Freedom Countries are classified into free, partly free, and
not free. (www.freedomhouse.org) Two factors in evaluating political freedom:
– Political rights – civil liberties
Indicators for political rights– Fair and competitive elections– Power for elected representatives– Ability to organize political parties– Safeguards on rights of minorities
Political FreedomContinued
Indicators for civil liberties– Freedom of the press– Equal right under the law– Personal social freedom – Government corruption and indifference
192 countries are rated according to political rights and civil liberties.
The U.S. and many European countries are classified as “free”
The worst rated countries include Cuba, Iraq, Libya, and North Korea.
Economic Freedom
Two factors in evaluating economic freedom– Freedom from government restraints on economic
activities– Legal and institutional frameworks to safeguard
economic freedom 155 countries are ranked according to economic
freedom in 10 categories. (www.heritage.org) Categories:
– banking, capital flows, monetary policy, taxation, trade policy, wages and prices, government intervention, property rights, regulation,and black market activities
Economic FreedomContinued
Economic freedom and economic well-being (measured by per capita GDP) are highly correlated.
Hong Kong and Singapore rank first and second respectively.
The worst ranked countries are Iraq, Libya, and North Korea (#155).
Competitiveness
Competitiveness of a country is evaluated according to its economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency and infrastructure. (www.imd.ch)
49 countries are rated and ranked. The U.S. ranks first and Singapore ranks
second.
top related