Index of economic freedom

Michael Manske's Slovenia based weblog Glory of Carniola links to a variety of European sources and blogs. In a post from last year Michael assesses the results of the 2004 Index of Economic Freedom which measures a country's economic freedom based on a number of factors like trade and monetary policy, government intervention in the economy, and property rights. It's published by The Wall Street Journal and the think tank The Heritage Foundation, with the emphasis being on free enterprise and limited government.

Michael Manske compares the results obtained by the new member states of the European Union including Malta.

From the Malta 2004 Index of Economic Freedom Report:

However, given the prevailing political and economic culture, further privatization of government-owned assets can be expected to prove politically difficult, as protectionism has been an essential component of the government’s policy. Malta’s trade policy score is 1 point worse this year, and its fiscal burden of government score is 0.5 point worse; however, its government intervention, banking and finance, wages and prices, and informal market scores are 1 point better. As a result, Malta’s overall score is 0.25 point better this year.