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The Freedom Barometer Asia 2009 Political, legal and economic freedom across Southeast and East Asia. Contents. 1. Why do we need a freedom barometer? 2. How do we measure freedom? 3. What sources do we use? 4. The Freedom Barometer 2009. 1. Why do we need a freedom barometer?.
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The Freedom Barometer Asia 2009 Political, legal and economic freedom across Southeast and East Asia
Contents 1. Why do we need a freedom barometer? 2. How do we measure freedom? 3. What sources do we use? 4. The Freedom Barometer 2009
1. Why do we need a freedom barometer? Existing indizes on freedom often focus on one side of it: political or economic. In addition, we wanted to create an index from a liberal´s point of view, focusing also on such matters as death penalty and property rights. Finally, we used the leading indizes and sources in creating our barometer. This makes it particularly comprehensive and authoritative.
Political freedom (democracy) 1. Free and fair elections 2. Absence of undemocratic veto players (e.g. military) 3. Press freedom Rule of law 1. Independence of the courts and checks and balances 2. Corruption 3. Human rights protection Economic freedom 1. Security of property rights 2. Size of Government: Expenditures, Taxes and Enterprises 3. Regulation of credit, labour and business 4. Freedom to trade internationally 2. How do we measure freedom?
2. How do we measure freedom? Free and fair elections • De jure: Are respective laws in place? The passive and active right to vote must be legally guaranteed. This includes the right to form parties and to campaign. • De facto: Does the campaign period allow a plurality of opinion? Is the actual voting process free from state interference? Is the counting of the votes free from state or other actors´ manipulation? Is a change of government possible?
2. How do we measure freedom? Absence of undemocratic veto players • De jure: Do unelected actors have legal or constitutional privileges that delimit the authority of the elected political elite? • De facto: Are these privileges exercised? Do unlected actors have informal veto power? Do coups occur? Is the military under civilian authority?
2. How do we measure freedom? Press freedom • De jure: Are respective laws in place? • De facto: Are these laws observed? Is there freedom of opinion? Is there plurality of opinion (e.g. through owernship). Are journalists free from persecution?
2. How do we measure freedom? Rule of law: independence of the courts • De jure: Are democratic legal principles codified: equality before the law and independence of the courts? • De facto: Are these laws observed? Is the jurisdiction biased towards specific political actors? What is the informal influence of political actors over justices? This also implicates functioning checks and balances, e.g. an independent constitutional court.
2. How do we measure freedom? Corruption • De jure: Are there anti-corruption laws? • De facto: What is the perceived degree of corruption? Corruption is a measure of rule of law because the former is a function of the latter.
2. How do we measure freedom? Human rights • De jure: Are respective laws in place? Everyone is entitled to freedom from persecution based on race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. • De facto: Are basic human rights observed by the state apparatus? Is there discrimination against certain groups or individuals? Is there forced labour? Does the government hamper the pursuit of happiness of its citizens? Is the death penalty practised?
2. How do we measure freedom? Security of property rights* • Judicial independence • Impartial courts • Protection of property rights • Military interference • Integrity of the legal system • Legal enforcement of contracts • Regulatory restrictions of sale of real property *See Economic Freedom of the World Report by Fraser Institute
2. How do we measure freedom? Size of government: expenditures, taxes and enterprises* A General government consumption spending as a percentage of total consumption B Transfers and subsidies as a percentage of GDP C Government enterprises and investment D Top marginal tax rate i Top marginal income tax rate ii Top marginal income and payroll tax rates *See Economic Freedom of the World Report by Fraser Institute
2. How do we measure freedom? Regulation of credit, labour and business* A Credit market regulations i Ownership of banks ii Foreign bank competition iii Private sector credit iv Interest rate controls / negative real interest rates B Labor market regulations i Minimum wage (DB) ii Hiring and firing regulations (GCR) iii Centralized collective bargaining (GCR) iv Mandated cost of hiring (DB) v Mandated cost of worker dismissal (DB) vi Conscription C Business regulations i Price controls ii Administrative requirements (GCR) iii Bureaucracy costs (GCR) iv Starting a business (DB) v Extra payments / bribes (GCR) vi Licensing restrictions (DB) vii Cost of tax compliance (DB) *See Economic Freedom of the World Report by Fraser Institute
2. How do we measure freedom? Freedom to trade internationally* A Taxes on international trade i Revenues from trade taxes (% of trade sector) ii Mean tarif rate iii Standard deviation of tarif rates B Regulatory trade barriers i Non-tarif trade barriers (GCR) ii Compliance cost of importing & exporting (DB) C Size of trade sector relative to expected D Black-market exchange rates E International capital market controls i Foreign ownership / investment restrictions (GCR) ii Capital controls *See Economic Freedom of the World Report by Fraser Institute
2. How do we measure freedom? For each indicator the value ranges from 0 (non-existent) to 10 (fully existent). Free and fair elections: 10 This means that free and fair elections are given in that country. Democratic election laws are in place and dutifully observed. Free and fair elections: 0 This means that free and fair elections are not given in that country. Elections do not occur at all or they are completely manipulated so as to fail to reflect the voters´ selection. As there are 10 indicators, the maximum number of points is 100 (completely free) and the minimum 0 (completely unfree). Our index consists of 6 political and 4 economic indicators, thus giving 20 % more weight to democracy.
Political freedom and rule of law Freedom House (2009) Reporters Without Borders (2008) Transparency International (2008) Economic freedom Economic Freedom of the World by Fraser Institute (values are from 2006) 3. What sources do we use?
3. What sources do we use? Conversion of the indizes used: Economic freedom by Fraser Institute: 1-10 (10 best). No conversion necessary. Freedom House: Free, partly free, not free. Conversion: Free is 7-10, partly free is 4-6, not free is 0-3. Transparency International Corruption Perception Index: 1-10 (10 best). No conversion necessary. Reporters Without Borders: 100-1 (1 best). Conversion: 100-60 is 0-3, 59-40 is 4-6, 39-0 is 7-10.
4. The Freedom Barometer 2009 4.1 The individual countries 4.2 Comparative table
4.1 The individual countries 4.1.1 Brunei 4.1.2 Burma 4.1.3 Cambodia 4.1.4 China 4.1.5 Indonesia 4.1.6 Japan 4.1.7 Laos 4.1.8 Malaysia 4.1.9 North Korea 4.1.10 Philippines 4.1.11 Singapore 4.1.12 South Korea 4.1.13 Taiwan 4.1.14 Thailand 4.1.15 Vietnam
4.1.11 Singapore 4.1.11 Singapore
