STUDENT ESSAY CONTEST 2009
Sponsored by the Manning Centre for Building Democracy
1st Prize: $1,000
2nd Prize: $500
High school category: $250
Topic:
Economic Freedom and Global Prosperity
An increasingly large body of research demonstrates a positive relationship between economic freedom and prosperity. What are the determining factors in this relationship? Is economic freedom the most effective way to pull a nation out of extreme poverty?
Choose one or more of the five component areas of the Fraser Institute’s Economic Freedom of the World report as a case study, and examine the reasons why reform to a nation’s institutions may lead to greater economic growth. Use existing research, economic analysis, and specific examples to support your argument.
The five areas of the index are:
Size of Government: Expenditures, Taxes, and Enterprises
Legal Structure and Security of Property Rights
Access to Sound Money
Freedom to Trade Internationally
Regulation of Credit, Labor and Business
The Fraser Institute’s Economic Freedom of the World research, including the annual report, a sample of papers using the index, and other information is available at http://www.freetheworld.com/, and will serve as a useful starting point for essay research. Students are strongly encouraged to use sources external to the Fraser Institute in their preparation of the essay.
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