While theory is important, I suspect most people are more likely to be convinced by real-world evidence.
This is why I frequently compare nations when arguing that free markets and small government are the best way of generating prosperity.
Simply stated, I want people to understand that economic liberty produces faster growth, and that faster growth can make a huge difference, particularly when looking at several decades of data.
Most recently, I showed how Poland is out-pacing Ukraine.
I’ve compared South Korea and North Korea.
The data for Chile, Argentina, and Venezuela is very powerful.
I’ve shown how Singapore has eclipsed Jamaica.
Hong Kong has caught up with the United States.
After looking at these examples, you’ll understand why I’m very happy to share this new video from one of Sweden’s free-market think tanks. It looks at how nations with more economic freedom get better results.
And I particularly like the comparisons of nations that are moving in the right direction versus those that are degenerating toward more statism.
Another good part of the video is that it shows how the European Union could have a very free economy if all nations simply copied the European nation with the best policy in the five major categories of economic liberty (rule of law, fiscal policy, trade, regulation, and monetary policy).
And it turns out that Denmark is the best in three of the categories (rule of law, trade, and regulation), which is why that nation manages to remain very competitive even though it does very poorly in fiscal policy.
The moral of the story is that trendlines matter. Better policy leads to faster growth, and sustained faster growth is immensely important to long-run living standards.
This appreciation for trendlines is also why I’m so fixated on controlling the long-run growth of government spending.
Indeed, my Golden Rule is a combination of two trend lines. If government spending grows at a slow rate and the private economy grows at a rapid rate, that’s a wonderful combination that could cure the fiscal nightmare of any nation. Even France and Greece.
[…] P.S. The analysis of economic policy on Indian reservations is somewhat akin to the analysis of economic policy in nations that are part of the European Union. In both cases, there is not full control of economic policy (in the case of the E.U., nations have no control over trade policy and most of them have no control over monetary policy). But just like various Indian reservations can make things better or worse with the policies they control, various E.U. nations can make things better or worse with the policies they control (think Sweden vs Greece). […]
[…] De uma perspectiva libertária, posso citar vários exemplo, tais como Chile vs. Argentina vs. Venezuela. Ou Coreia do Norte vs. Coreia do Sul. Ou Ucrânia vs. Polônia. Ou Hong Kong vs. Argentina. Ou Cingapura vs. Jamaica. Ou Estados Unidos vs. Hong Kong e Cingapura. Ou mesmo Suécia vs. Grécia. […]
[…] This comparison of Sweden and Greece also makes the key point about the superiority of markets over […]
[…] This comparison of Sweden and Greece also makes the key point about the superiority of markets over […]
[…] has been dragging its feet about auctioning them to the private sector. So Greece is definitely closer to socialism than […]
[…] De uma perspectiva libertária, posso citar vários exemplo, tais como Chile vs. Argentina vs. Venezuela. Ou Coreia do Norte vs. Coreia do Sul. Ou Ucrânia vs. Polônia. Ou Hong Kong vs. Argentina. Ou Cingapura vs. Jamaica. Ou Estados Unidos vs. Hong Kong e Cingapura. Ou mesmo Suécia vs. Grécia. […]
[…] This video has more details on the comparison of the two countries. […]
[…] The optimistic answer is that Sweden actually is a pretty good role model. […]
[…] The optimistic answer is that Sweden actually is a pretty good role model. […]
[…] vs. Argentina. Or Singapore vs. Jamaica. Or the United States vs. Hong Kong and Singapore. Or even Sweden vs. Greece. I could continue, but I think you get the […]
[…] The net result is that we’re both more market-oriented than the average western nation (compare Sweden and Greece, for instance), but both well behind the pace setters for economic liberty, Hong Kong and […]
[…] understands that there’s no such thing as a free lunch. …That being said, while it’s much better to be Sweden rather than Greece, I obviously would prefer to be Hong Kong (or, even better, pre-1913 […]
[…] understands that there’s no such thing as a free lunch. …That being said, while it’s much better to be Sweden rather than Greece, I obviously would prefer to be Hong Kong (or, even better, pre-1913 […]
There is much to say for the Danish model, and the Danes are nice people … but Denmark economically free? by some measures, sure, but try finding housing for rent in Denmark. Without a free market in rental housing, there is no freedom of movement, and therefore no economic freedom.
And Denmark a competitive country? my Danish landlord figured out pretty soon that, if he wanted to get work done on his property, he’d better hire Baltic workers; and i figured out pretty soon that, if i wanted to move, i better hire a Baltic removal company. (It’s not a matter of saving money: it’s a matter of getting the job done; it’s about the work ethic.)
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The Fairtax will unleash the US economy. Go to http://www.Fairtax,org