involvement in economic decisions than the U.S. economy. China and Russia, while over the past several

decades have moved more in the direction of having a market-oriented system, remain closer to the command

economy end of the spectrum. The Heritage Foundation provides perspective on countries’ economic freedom,

as the following Clear It Up feature discusses.

CLEAR IT UP

What countries are considered economically free?
Who is in control of economic decisions? Are people free to do what they want and to work where they want? Are

businesses free to produce when they want and what they choose, and to hire and fire as they wish? Are banks free

to choose who will receive loans, or does the government control these kinds of choices? Each year, researchers at

the Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journallook at 50 different categories of economic freedom for

countries around the world. They give each nation a score based on the extent of economic freedom in each
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