MANAMA: Bahrain has been ranked the most economically free Arab nation, leading international think tank the Fraser Institute reported. The kingdom has topped the index in each of the seven years since it was first published. Bahrain achieved an overall score of 8.0 out of 10 in The Economic Freedom of the Arab World: 2010 Annual Report, with a higher score indicating a greater degree of economic freedom. Bahrain's consistent ranking in first place reflects the success of a decade of social and economic reforms, according to Sheikh Mohammad Bin Eisa Al Khalifa, chief executive of the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB). Fraser Institute said the positive relationship of economic freedom to economic growth and prosperity - the ambitions of Bahrain's own Vision 2030 which the EDB is leading under the guidance of Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and chairman of the EDB. The Economic Freedom of the Arab World: 2010 Annual Report compares five aspects of economic freedom: size of government, including expenditures, taxes and enterprises; commercial and economic law and security of property rights; access to sound money; freedom to trade internationally; and the regulation of credit, labor and business. Bahrain is also ranked the 13th freest economy in the world and the freest in the Middle East and North Africa in the Index of Economic Freedom, published by the Heritage Foundation and Wall Street Journal. Kuwait followed with 7.8 ahead of Lebanon (7.6); Oman (7.5); and Jordan and Qatar (7.4). Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates scored 7.3, with the Gulf states achieving the highest level of economic freedom in the Arab world on average. Meanwhile, a group of prominent women business leaders Wednesday highlighted the changing landscape of women's entrepreneurship and its role in the GCC economies, calling for legal and administrative reforms for the benefit of the society.
