Friday, June 13, 2014

When It Comes to the World Cup Bet on Countries with the Most Free Economies

By Dr.Patrick Basham

Pundits handicapping the World Cup miss an “X factor” that seems to explain why some teams exceed expectations: It’s economic freedom.

A World Cup secret: the free-economy ‘X factor’A nation’s ability to play the Beautiful Game correlates better with her willingness to set her citizens economically free than with her World Cup history or roster.

In the conventional wisdom, Big Government countries dominate soccer because the game is really athletic socialism: a dull, low-scoring, nonviolent sport everyone can play that often ends with both teams on equal terms.

In fact, soccer’s now a Big Money capitalist sport — an intensely competitive, highly profitable global enterprise. Its quad­rennial showcase event, the World Cup, which kicks-off Thursday in Brazil, highlights the superiority of teams from free enterprise-friendly countries.

Back in 2010, my analysis of each World Cup nation’s level of economic freedom provided a reliable guide to their performance that year in South Africa.

Soccer “experts” gave the United States only a modest chance of making an impact — but the Americans, then representing the seventh freest economy in the world, advanced to the knockout stage, where they lost in overtime to Ghana, which boasted the freest economy among African contenders.

Of course, it’s not only about economic freedom, or Ghana wouldn’t have topped more-free America. But the X factor might be enough to give you an edge in your office pool.

Read the rest here.

3 comments:

  1. "Most Free" or just a little freer than the North Korea's of the world.

    True freedom lovers should not get too excited about this.

    Fascist Italy did win 2 of the first 3 World Cups.

    I think "conventional wisdom" still holds true.

    The Nanny state rules the soccer world.

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    1. Only because England sat them out, deeming it as not worth bothering with. Arsenal, an English club side, beat Italy in that era in a chellenge match.

      "In the conventional wisdom, Big Government countries dominate soccer because the game is really athletic socialism: a dull ..."

      What a strange opinion.

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  2. Because when I think of "economic freedom" I totally think of Brazil, Spain, France...

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