Sources

"For the first time since our measurements began in 1994," states the 1999 edition of the annual Index of Economic Freedom, co-produced by the Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal, "global economic freedom has declined." The Index, which for the last half decade has measured the openness of hundreds of countries' economies in such areas as trade, taxation, and regulation, found that of the countries rated in the last two years whose score had changed, "27 improved their overall scores while 29 regressed." Overall, 71 countries earned a rating of "free" or "mostly free" while 90 countries were judged "mostly unfree" or "repressed." The executive summary, selected charts, and country analyses are available at www.heritage.org/index. The entire 490 pages can be purchased for $24.95 online or by calling 1-800-975-8625.