ThinkTankWeekly

How Free Is Your State? None Aced the Test.

CATO | 2026-10-22 | society

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English Summary

The Cato Institute's 2026 'Freedom in the 50 States' report concludes that no state achieved high scores across most measures of economic or personal freedom. This index uses 97 equally weighted policy measures to gauge a state's overall pro-freedom tendency, finding that high scores often reflect relative improvements rather than absolute perfection. The analysis highlights that gubernatorial actions are key indicators of policy direction, suggesting that state-level policy reform and the accountability of governors are critical levers for advancing liberty. Policymakers should therefore focus on state-by-state policy analysis to identify areas of potential reform.

中文摘要

凱托學會(Cato Institute)發布的2026年《五十字州自由指數》報告指出,沒有任何州在大多數經濟或個人自由的衡量指標上獲得高分。該指數採用97個權重均等的政策指標,用以衡量一個州整體「親自由」的傾向,並發現高分往往反映的是相對的改善,而非絕對的完美。分析強調,州長的行動是政策方向的關鍵指標,暗示州級政策改革和州長的問責制是推動自由發展的關鍵驅動因素。因此,政策制定者應專注於進行州別的政策分析,以找出潛在的改革領域。

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