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Thoughts about Singapore
Got back yesterday from a quick trip to Singapore (though anything that involves 18 hours in a plane – one way – is not exactly quick). I don’t really have any profound personal observations about the...
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America Drops to Fourth Place in Global Competitiveness Ranking
After being in 1st place in 2007 and 2008, America dropped behind Switzerland in the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report in 2009. The 2010 ranking was just released, and the United...
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Halfway Around the World, Fighting for Freedom, Low Taxes, and Sovereignty
I’m in Singapore for two days to help fight the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a statist international bureaucracy based in Paris. The OECD has something called a global tax...
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Report from World Economic Forum Gives U.S. Poor Grades for Wasteful Spending...
The latest issue of the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report contains some rather damning information about government incompetence in the United States. America ranks only 68th in the...
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American Politicians Should Learn Some Policy Lessons from Hong Kong and...
Singapore has been in the news because one of the Facebook billionaires has decided to re-domicile to that low-tax jurisdictions. Some American politicians reacted by blaming the victim and are urging...
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Singapore: A Remarkable Free-Market Success Story
I’ve written about the success of Hong Kong (particularly when compared to nations such as Cuba, France, and China), but haven’t paid as much attention to Singapore. But it’s time to correct that...
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If Poor Nations Want Economic Convergence and Capital Accumulation, They Need...
There’s a “convergence” theory in economics that suggests, over time, that “poor nations should catch up with rich nations.” But in the real world, that seems to be the exception rather than the rule....
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Free-Market Reforms Are Needed to Boost Chinese Prosperity and Stabilize the...
At the risk of stereotyping, the Chinese people are remarkably productive when given the chance. Hong Kong and Singapore are dominated by ethnic Chinese, and those jurisdictions routinely rank among...
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National Competitiveness and Economic Freedom
At the risk of oversimplifying, libertarians want to minimize the level of government coercion is society. That’s why we favor both economic liberty and personal liberty. Simply stated, you should have...
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The United States Has the Third-Most Competitive Economy, but Could Be #1 if...
Most folks in Washington are still digesting last night’s debate between Tweedledee and Tweedledum. If that’s what you care about, you can see my Twitter commentary, though I was so busy addressing...
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OECD Overlooks Amazing Success of Low-Tax Singapore, Urges Higher Taxes in Asia
I wrote a rather favorable column a few days ago about a new study from economists at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Their research showed how larger levels of government...
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IMF Data from Asia: Aging Populations Will Mean More Taxes and Fewer Benefits...
I’ve looked at some of the grim fiscal implications of demographic changes the United States and Europe. Now let’s look at what’s happening in Asia. The International Monetary Fund has a recent study...
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Free Markets, Rule of Law, and Limited Government: A Recipe for Singapore’s...
Singapore is one of my favorite nations for the simple reason that it consistently gets very high scores from Economic Freedom of the World and the Index of Economic Freedom (as well as from Doing...
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The Evidence-Based Case for Unilateral Free Trade
When President Trump proposed zero trade barriers among major economies, I applauded. Government-imposed barriers to commerce hurt prosperity, whether those restrictions hinder voluntary exchange...
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Shoddy Oxfam Study on Inequality Puts Greece, Afghanistan, and Zimbabwe Ahead...
Imagine being a poor person and getting to choose your country. Which one would you select? The answer probably depends on your goals in life. If you want to emulate “Lazy Robert” and be a moocher, you...
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Hong Kong, Singapore, and Using Good Policy to Bust the Middle-Income Trap
International development experts often write about a “middle-income trap.” According to this theory, it’s not that challenging for nations to climb out of poverty, but it’s difficult for them to take...
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Singapore Flirting with Class-Warfare Tax Policy
Singapore is routinely ranked as the world’s 2nd-freest economy, trailing only Hong Kong. The nation’s laissez-faire approach has yielded big dividends. Singapore is now über prosperous, richer than...
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Singapore and Hong Kong Surpass the United States in Competitiveness Ranking
Because they directly measure economic liberty, my favorite global rankings are Economic Freedom of the World and the Index of Economic Freedom. But I also like the World Economic Forum’s Global...
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Singapore Is a Role Model for Prosperity
Brexit was a battle over whether the United Kingdom would: Be a component part of the European Union Be a self-governing democracy Now that British voters have chosen the second option, there’s a...
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Market-Driven Growth and the Asian Tigers
I’m currently in Tanzania as part of a speaking tour in Africa. My remarks today largely repeated the message I gave to an audience last week in Nigeria. So I won’t bother sharing anything from my...
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