The U.S. reversed a five-year decline in the Heritage Foundation's Index of Economic Freedom with its biggest annual increase in the index in over two decades, FOX Business can exclusively reveal.
America's economic freedom score rose by 2.6 points from a year ago to 72.8, which ranks 22nd among the more than 176 countries that had completed scores in the index. The increase of 2.6 points was the largest annual increase since 2001 and is the second-largest jump the U.S. has had in its 32-year history in the index.
Heritage's Index of Economic Freedom assesses 12 economic freedoms that fall into four categories including rule of law, government size, regulatory efficiency and open markets – each of which has three subcategories.
"The U.S.' score improvements in monetary freedom, government spending, fiscal health, and investment freedom have outpaced the relatively lower score in trade freedom, reflecting the net positive impact of major regulatory and tax reforms on economic growth, investment, and business confidence," Heritage's Anthony Kim, the Jay Kingham Research Fellow in International Economic Affairs, editor of the Index of Economic Freedom and manager of global engagement at the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom, told FOX Business.
Kim explained that the progress "is not accidental" and is reflective of the Trump administration's initiatives that have "cut government jobs, slowed spending, and prioritized private-sector growth through proactive, bold deregulatory and tax reforms."