Spain declines in the IEE Economic Freedom index and is ranked 31 out of 38

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Economic freedom in Spain is in decline. The country has achieved a score of 65 points in the analysis carried out by the Institute of Economic Studies (IEE), which the CEOE appreciates with data from the Heritage Foundation. This places the country in the position of the 38 comparable countries in the OECD and reflects a drop of more than 3 points compared to the 68.2 points with which it was rated last year. Fifth country with the greatest deterioration The data in this edition places Spain as the fifth country that has seen its degree of economic freedom deteriorate the most between 2022 and 2023, with a decrease of 3.2 points that practically doubles the average drop observed in the OECD. Only Chile, Lithuania, Greece and Iceland experience a more intense decline, although three of these four countries have a general score higher than that of Spain, so only the Hellenic economy presents a more unfavorable situation, to the extent that its score It is generally worse and its trend is worsening more rapidly.

The president of the IEE, Iñigo Fernández de Mesa, explained this Monday during the presentation of the study that the high public deficit and the large long-term debt of the State are the reasons that weigh most in the Job Function Email Database deterioration of economic freedom in Spain since this The high weight of the State has a direct impact on the business margin that companies have. Switzerland, the country with the most liberalized economy Spain moves away from Switzerland, which with 83.3 points out of 100 is the country with the most liberalized economy in the OECD, followed by Ireland with 82 points and New Zealand with 78.9. The average result for the group of OECD member countries reaches,Spain is below the OECD average in judicial effectiveness, good governance, fiscal pressure, public spending, fiscal health, business freedom, labor flexibility, ease of investment and financial solvency.



Only in three is it higher than the OECD average: property rights, monetary stability and trade openness. Spanish deterioration linked to national policies According to the report, it is especially worrying that Spain has experienced such a sharp decline in these variables, since this circumstance places us in a position of increasing financial vulnerability. If we look at the mix referring to the size of the State, we find that our score is only 31.9 points, a marked decrease compared to the 42.6 points achieved in the 2022 evaluation. “Economic freedom is important because it is directly related to the standard of living of citizens. There is a close correlation between the commitment to laissez faire and the increase in GDP per capita. Promoting public policies aimed at supporting capitalism leads to significant improvements in people's income,” says Fernández de Mesa.