美国智库传统基金会日前共同发布的2009年“全球经济自由度指数”显示，香港仍是世界上最自由的经济体。自第一届指数编排开始，香港便一直处于全球最自由经济体排名榜首位，今年已是第15次蝉联冠军，新加坡名列第二，紧随其后的分别是澳大利亚、爱尔兰和新西兰。全球经济自由度指数主要依照商业自由度、贸易自由度、财政自由度、投资自由度、产权等十大指标，对纳入考察的179个全球经济体进行评价，今年的指数统计截至2008年6月，因此并未反映去年下半年以来全球各国政府针对金融海啸所采取的措施。

Hong Kong has been named the world's freest economy for the 15th year in a row, according to an annual report released Tuesday by the conservative Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal that warns against government intervention¹ amid the global economic crisis.

The Chinese territory, known for its low taxes and looser regulations, was followed by Singapore, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand, according to this year's Index of Economic Freedom.

European countries again accounted for half of the top 20 economies considered free or mostly free, with Switzerland at No. 9 and the U.K. at No. 10.

However, the U.S. slid one notch² to sixth place, dinged for increased government spending and tax revenue as a percentage of gross domestic product, one of the survey's authors said.

Ranking at the bottom was North Korea, followed by next-to-last Zimbabwe, Cuba, Myanmar and Eritrea. The southern African country, whose economy is in meltdown after years of state-endorsed violence and business controls, posted the biggest drop in this year's report.

The survey, which gauges³ 179 countries on 10 economic factors like trade barriers, property rights, taxes and market regulations, covers the year ending in June 2008, before the global meltdown led governments around the world to bailout financial institutions.

While free-market policies have been widely criticized for precipitating⁴ the current global financial and economic crisis, the report's authors defended free capitalist systems and argued against massive government as a threat to growth.

"Yes, there may be temporary ups and down, but in the long run more economic freedom leads to more wealth for more people than any other system," Edwin Feulner, president of Heritage Foundation, a Washington-based think tank, told reporters in Hong Kong.

"There is no escaping the fact that the freer the economy the more it flourishes," he said.

While Hong Kong has long been seen as a shining example of free-market capitalism⁵, much of its economy is controlled by a small group of tycoons⁶ and cartels.

Government regulators, meanwhile, have been criticized in recent months for not doing more to protect local investors⁷ who bought Lehman Brothers-backed products that are likely worthless in the aftermath of the Wall Street firm's collapse⁸.