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(Global Development Ranking "Democracy, Market and Transparency")
Continuing our work in spreading awareness about successful comparative experiences, which represents a valuable premise for the debate on public policy in Latin American countries, this edition of Desarrollo Global highlights the role of Australia and includes, among others, a collaboration with the country’s ambassador in Argentina, S.E. Patricia Holmes.
In that regard, in terms of civil liberties and political law, Australia is ranked among the 39 countries in the world with an ideal score; in economic freedoms it is the democracy with the highest score; and in governmental transparency it is the 9th highest. For this reason, Australia also stands out in other indices, like Human Development, Fiscal Responsibility and Global Dynamism.
Global Development Ranking
Out of a total 167 countries, New Zealand retained its first position in 2013’s global development ranking “Democracy, Market and Transparency” and the North Korean dictatorship remained in last. Denmark also retained its 2nd place and continues to lead the ranking for European Union countries. Canada, in 7th place is the best-performing country in the Americas.
Additionally, the top 29 countries in the ranking have a higher score in terms of civil and political liberties. Among the highest-ranked in terms of democratic liberties, Italy now occupies the lowest position in the ranking (48).
At the same time, among those classified by Freedom House as Partly Free, Singapore appears the highest on the list (33) and Venezuela the lowest (154). Qatar on the other hand continues to be the best-ranked (83) Not Free country in terms of democracy, despite having dropped five positions since 2012 and is followed by United Arab Emirates (90).
The average score on the ranking worldwide is 0.551 and is the exact score of the Dominican Republic (79) and below which score 88 countries, which is the majority.
Latin America
Of the 21 Latin American countries, eleven placed below the global average and only three received an ideal score in terms of civil liberties and political rights: Chile (14), Uruguay (21) and Costa Rica (41). They are also the only countries in the region to place among the top 50. However, these three countries make up part of a total of twelve in Latin America that dropped in ranking with respect to 2012. The biggest descents were the Dominican Republic (79), twelve positions; Panama (61), nine positions; and Argentina (85), six.
The two most influential countries in the region, Brazil and Mexico, also suffered set-backs with respect to 2012. Brazil appears barely in the 60th position and compared to 2012 dropped down one spot and in 76th is Mexico, which fell two positions.
The lowest positions in the Latin American ranking continue to be held by Cuba (157) and Venezuela (154). Curiously, the rest of the most important countries which make up the authoritarian bloc Alianza Bolivariana para los pueblos de nuestra América (ALBA) improved their positions in the ranking: Ecuador (94), Bolivia (95) and Nicaragua (104), which increased 6, 3 and 19 positions, respectively.
Why do Countries Prosper?
Just like how Global Development proposes a simple explanation of the factors that contribute to good political, economic and institutional performance in countries, there is also an important essay that tries to explain the conditions which favor progress among nations and well-being among people. For this reason, in the book section, the economist Jorge Streb reviews Acemoglu and Robinson’s influential essay titled “Why Nations Fail.”
Human Rights
Finally, this edition closes with a summary by ex-Chancellor of Australia, Gareth Evans, on the Forum 2000 which took place in Prague in October of 2013 and was dedicated to analyzing societies in
transition. This event, inspired originally by Czech ex-president Václav Havel, is one of the most important annual conferences in terms of democracy and human rights and in which participate many prominent international figures. For example, on this occasion three Nobel Peace Prize winners were in attendance: His Holiness the Dali Lama, the South African Frederik de Klerk and Burmese politician Aung San Suu Kyi.
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