Pioneering new way to measure economic democracy makes link to equality

A pioneering new way to measure the economy and identify the 'democratic health' of a country's economy was unveiled today (Thursday 18 January 2018). Using this new Index of Economic Democracy, researchers have found that countries with higher levels of public engagement and participation in their economies have fewer inequalities. Nordic countries such as Sweden, Denmark and Iceland ranked top, while economies such as the US rank at the bottom, with the UK ranking 20th out of 32. The project involved University of Glasgow Adam Smith Business School, and Nottingham Trent University in partnership with the New Economics Foundation and Oxfam. The research team constructed a global index of 32 countries that determines how much control people have over the economy and how it works, to measure levels of economic democracy between and within countries. The index is unique because it takes a broad perspective, incorporating individual economic rights, such as rights in the workplace, gender rights, levels of public participation and the wide-ranging nature of economic decision making. It enables researchers to explore the relationship between economic democracy and key public policy goals such as tackling inequality and poverty, as well as productivity.