Malaysia rises to 68th spot in economic freedom ranking

Malaysia rises to 68th spot in economic freedom ranking
Business & Markets 2013
Written by Bernama
Thursday, 19 September 2013 18:33

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 19): Malaysia went up three spots to rank 68 out of 151 nations and territories included in the Economic Freedom of the World: 2013 Annual Report.

The report was released by the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS), in partnership with Canada's Fraser Institute and 86 other think tanks globally.

In a statement today, IDEAS said the achievement showed that the New Economic Model (NEM) has been successful in its first year.

"Once again, we have improved our position in the global ranking," the think-tank said.

The Economic Freedom of the World Index is the world's premier measurement of economic freedom based on policies that encourage a more liberalised economic environment.

It always has a lag of two years in order to accommodate the staggered global data releases.

"This makes the report crucial because it measures our country's progress in
2011, which is one year after the launch of the NEM.

"Even though we are not in the top range yet, the government's leadership has taken us to the right direction with the NEM," said IDEAS.

As a follow-up to this release, IDEAS plans to hold a workshop with economic experts to look into ways to further enhance the economic liberalisation process.

The workshop will be held here in November and the recommendations will be submitted to the government.

In terms of the global ranking, Hong Kong again topped the rankings of 151 countries and territories, followed by New Zealand, and Switzerland.

The United States, once considered a bastion of economic freedom, now ranks only 17th in the world.

Some nations, like North Korea and Cuba, could not be ranked because of lack of data. -- BERNAMA