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Total Government Expenditures |
Economic Freedom Rating |
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As a Percent of GDP |
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No Data |
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Part 1: The Economic Freedom Ratings for the Components and Various Area and |
Summary Indexes: 1975, 1980, 1985, 1990 and 1995. |
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(The numbers in parentheses indicate the actual values for the components.) |
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Components of Economic Freedom |
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1975 |
1980 |
1985 |
1990 |
1995 |
I. Money and Inflation |
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4.3 |
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5.6 |
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4.6 |
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4.3 |
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4.6 |
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(a) Annual Money Growth (last 5 yrs.) |
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1 |
(24.8) |
1 |
(23.5) |
1 |
(23.0) |
1 |
(40.0) |
1 |
(34.5) |
(b) Inflation Variablity (last 5 yrs.) |
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1 |
(14.6) |
5 |
(4.3) |
2 |
(10.2) |
1 |
(16.7) |
2 |
(10.6) |
(c) Ownership of Foreign Currency |
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10 |
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10 |
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10 |
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10 |
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10 |
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(d) Maint. of Bank Account Abroad |
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10 |
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10 |
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10 |
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10 |
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10 |
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II. Government Operation |
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5.5 |
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5.5 |
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4.3 |
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3.5 |
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4.4 |
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(a) Gov't Consump. (% of Total Consump.) |
5 |
(18.2) |
5 |
(19.6) |
7 |
(15.1) |
9 |
(11.2) |
7 |
(15.9) |
(b) Government Enterprises |
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6 |
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6 |
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4 |
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4 |
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4 |
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(c) Price Controls |
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- |
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- |
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- |
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0 |
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0 |
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(d) Entry Into Business |
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- |
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- |
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- |
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- |
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7.5 |
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(e) Legal System |
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- |
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- |
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- |
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- |
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2.5 |
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(f) Avoidance of Neg. Interest Rates |
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- |
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- |
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0 |
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0 |
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6 |
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III. Takings |
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3.9 |
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4.7 |
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3.7 |
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5.5 |
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7.8 |
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(a) Transfers and Subsidies (% of GDP) |
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- |
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6 |
(4.9) |
7 |
(4.0) |
8 |
(2.3) |
9 |
(1.5) |
(b) Marginal Tax Rates (Top Rate) |
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5 |
(50) |
5 |
(50) |
2 |
(58) |
5 |
(40) |
9 |
(25) |
(c) Conscription |
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0 |
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0 |
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0 |
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0 |
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0 |
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IV. International Sector |
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3.6 |
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3.0 |
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3.1 |
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3.0 |
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5.0 |
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(a) Taxes on International Trade (Avg.) |
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2 |
(8.9) |
3 |
(7.2) |
5 |
(6.2) |
6 |
(4.0) |
7 |
(3.5) |
(b) Black Market Exchange Rates (Prem.) |
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6 |
(5) |
4 |
(13) |
2 |
(48) |
0 |
(10) |
4 |
(12) |
(c) Size of Trade Sector (% of GDP) |
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5 |
(29.5) |
3 |
(25.3) |
3 |
(23.8) |
4 |
(30.1) |
3 |
(27.8) |
(d) Capital Transactions with Foreigners |
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2 |
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2 |
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2 |
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2 |
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5 |
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Economic Freedom Rating |
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4.2 |
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4.5 |
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3.8 |
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4.8 |
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5.5 |
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Ranking of Country |
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44 |
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37 |
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69 |
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43 |
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55 |
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Part 2: Recent Economic Indicators: |
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Population 1996: |
11.7 |
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Real Per Capita GDP |
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1995= |
$4,055 |
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(in millions) |
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(in 1995 U.S. dollars) |
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Annual Rate of Change (1985-96): |
2.3% |
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Avg. Growth Rate: |
1980-90= |
-0.3% |
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1990-95= |
1.1% |
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Economic Indicators:* |
1988 |
1989 |
1990 |
1991 |
1992 |
1993 |
1994 |
1995 |
1996 |
Change in Real GDP: Aggregate |
10.5 |
0.3 |
3.0 |
5.0 |
3.6 |
2.0 |
4.4 |
2.3 |
- |
: Per Capita |
8.2 |
-2.0 |
0.7 |
2.7 |
1.3 |
-0.3 |
2.1 |
0.0 |
- |
Inflation Rate (CPI) |
58.2 |
75.6 |
48.5 |
48.7 |
54.6 |
45.0 |
27.3 |
22.9 |
22.8 |
Change in Money Supply: (M1) |
52.7 |
43.8 |
59.0 |
46.7 |
48.4 |
63.7 |
32.5 |
2.7 |
- |
: (M2) |
56.4 |
38.0 |
52.6 |
54.1 |
52.2 |
63.0 |
51.6 |
36.7 |
- |
Investment/GDP Ratio |
20.7 |
17.5 |
22.2 |
21.2 |
20.2 |
18.9 |
18.6 |
20.9 |
- |
Size of Trade Sector (% of GDP) |
29.5 |
30.3 |
30.1 |
30.6 |
29.6 |
25.9 |
25.2 |
27.8 |
- |
Total Gov't Exp./GDP Ratio |
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Central Government Budget |
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Deficit (-) or Surplus (+) |
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As a Percent of GDP |
- |
+1.9 |
+1.8 |
+1.5 |
+2.3 |
+2.6 |
+0.3 |
-1.2 |
- |
Unemployment Rate |
- |
- |
6.1 |
8.5 |
8.9 |
8.3 |
7.1 |
- |
- |
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* The figures in this table are in percent form. |
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In 1995 Ecuador ranked 55th among the 115 countries of our study. It
has persistently ranked in the middle group during each of our rating years.
On the positive side, government consumption and income transfers
are both relatively low. Taxes are also low and the current top marginal tax rate (25%) is
substantially lower than the 58% rate of the mid-1980s. Citizens are permitted to maintain
foreign currency bank accounts which provides them with some measure of protection against
the inflation policies that have historically beset this economy.
Excessive regulation and a weak institutional structure are the
major weaknesses of this economy. Regulations control both exchange rates and interest
rates, restrict the mobility of capital, and often limit entry and increase the cost of
doing business. The central bank is controlled by the politicians and the monetary
institutions do little to breed confidence that price stability is an important goal. The
legal institutions are also highly politicized and provide government officials with
discretionary authority, which inevitably leads to both discrimination and corruption.
This economy has stagnated for two decades. Perhaps the poor
performance will soon create an environment that will facilitate needed institutional
reforms and movement toward economic freedom.
Source: United Nations, Statistical Yearbook, 1992 (New York 1994).