Economic freedom report puts West Virginia near bottom of national list

Mountaineers are apparently not always free. This year’s Economic Freedom of North America Report showed West Virginia was one of 46 U.S. states where economic freedom has declined during the past five years.

“Economic freedom is the extent to which the policies of a country or state are consistent with individuals having autonomy over their economic decisions,” explained Joshua Hall, associate professor of economics at West Virginia University.

“It’s about what sort of constraints government is putting on people’s ability to go about work and business.”

In the report, West Virginia is ranked 45th with the driving factors behind that number being the size of state government, tax levels and labor market regulations. Hall said, for example, one in five people employed in West Virginia works for the government — a large number compared to the rest of the U.S.

States with the highest levels of economic freedom included Texas, South Dakota, North Dakota, Virginia and New Hampshire. States at the bottom of the list with West Virginia were New Mexico, Hawaii, California and New Jersey.

According to the economic freedom report, per capita GDP in the most free states was more than $6,000, or 14 percent, greater than in the least free states.

Hall said West Virginia’s lawmakers should pay attention to the report’s results and take steps to try to reverse the downward trend since research has shown links between high levels of economic freedom and greater income levels, employment opportunities and economic growth.