Welcome back to Fraser Insight, the Fraser Institute’s U.S. newsletter. This wintertime issue of Insight showcases a number of outputs focused on our team’s research into economic freedom.

Leading off, the In Print section, as always, features a mix of op-eds and blogs. This issue includes essays on the miracle of economic growth, the deteriorating state of economic freedom globally, the possible impact of Trump administration tariff policies, and the need for freedom-oriented energy policy.

The In Focus section highlights deep-dive studies and reports, including the 20th-anniversary edition of our Economic Freedom of North America index (New Hampshire takes the top spot yet again, followed by South Dakota and Florida); the Economic Freedom of the World index (Hong Kong holds the top spot, followed by Singapore in 2nd, Switzerland, 3rd, New Zealand, 4th, and the United States, 5th); and the Human Freedom Index (which reveals that almost 90 percent of people in the countries measured by the index have experienced declining freedom in recent years).

Finally, our In Context section offers information for the educators among our readership: a teach-the-teacher program focused on economics.

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Between 2019 and 2022, economic freedom fell in 86 percent of countries. By 2022 (the year with the most recent available data), the average person enjoyed less economic freedom than he or she had in 2007.

In response to Donald Trump’s proposal to introduce sweeping new tariffs on goods coming from Canada, Ontario Premier Doug Ford compared the tariff threat to a “family member stabbing you right in the heart.”

According to the philosopher Michael Novak, the breakthrough idea of capitalism was not the profit motive (which has existed forever) but the very idea that sustained growth was possible.

After a meeting in Italy last spring, the G7 countries pledged to triple renewable energy sources globally to ensure an “affordable” energy future. But while direct costs for wind and solar are dropping, they remain expensive due in part to the backup energy sources required when renewables are not available.

The real goal of the global climate cognoscenti is a giant wealth transfer from developed to developing countries.

Despite Donald Trump’s pledge to “unleash” the American oil and gas sector by cutting red tape and accelerating permit approvals, the Canadian government remains committed to constraining Canada’s oil and gas industry. The result: more investment to the U.S. and less to Canada.

Pledging to “drill, drill, drill,” Trump vows to establish U.S. “energy dominance” by “cutting red tape, enhancing private sector investments across all sectors of the economy, and by focusing on innovation over long-standing, but totally unnecessary, regulation.” These changes will lower the cost of oil and gas development in the U.S., which means production will increase and commodity prices will likely drop in the U.S., Canada and beyond.

New Hampshire is again the most economically free state. Rounding out the top five freest states are South Dakota (2nd), Florida (3rd), Tennessee (4th), and Texas (5th). Among U.S. states, the least free are New York (50th), California (49th), Hawaii (48th), New Mexico (47th), and Vermont (46th). Puerto Rico comes in last among U.S. jurisdictions measured in the index.

Global economic freedom declined for the third year in a row. Hong Kong is the most economically free jurisdiction in the world (although it’s score has declined in recent years), followed by Singapore (2nd), Switzerland (3rd), New Zealand (4th) and the United States (5th). The rankings of other major countries include Canada (8th), Japan (11th), Britain (12th), Germany (16th), Taiwan (19th), Korea (32nd), France (36th), Mexico (65th), India (84th), Brazil (85th), China (104th) and Russia (119th).

Nearly nine in 10 people in 165 measured countries have experienced declining freedom in recent years. Switzerland is once again the freest country, followed by New Zealand, Denmark, Luxembourg and Ireland. The United States comes in at 17th (tied with Britain). Rankings for other countries of note include: Canada (11th), Japan (12th), Germany (14th), Taiwan (19th), France (34th), Mexico (94th), India (110th), Russia (139th) and China (150th). Hong Kong, which was the third freest jurisdiction as recently as 2010, has fallen to 50th. The five least-free countries are (in descending order) Sudan, Myanmar, Iran, Yemen and Syria.

Calling all K-12 educators: The Fraser Institute offers free webinar and in-person programs to equip you with the tools to teach economics more effectively. Each webinar is hosted over a series of short modules, while our in-person programs take place over the course of one day. These teacher workshops are developed and presented by experts in economics, offering teachers the opportunity to participate in interactive sessions and to take home a wealth of resources, including detailed lesson plans and readings. For a list of lesson plan descriptions, review our Lesson Plan Catalog.