Entrepreneurs power the best economies

Should this be surprising? (Telegraph)

Indeed, entrepreneurialism is strongest in countries that share the English common law tradition – five times higher than those with a French legal origin. There is also a strong correlation between high rates of entrepreneurship in a country and low taxes. Equally, a low regulatory burden correlates strongly with high rates of entrepreneurship. On the other hand, those government and supranational programmes that politicians love to announce to encourage entrepreneurship – such as the EU’s Lisbon Strategy – tend to fail.

The lesson is clear: to encourage innovation and entrepreneurialism, governments should do as little as possible, beyond cutting taxes and regulations.