The Washington, D.C.-based organization’s report praises Corbett as a “frugal budgeter” and for his commitment to phasing out Pennsylvania’s Capital Stock and Franchise Tax.

Cato ranks governors according to seven variables: four based on tax rates, two on spending and one on revenue.

“The highest-scoring governors are those who have supported the largest tax and spending cuts,” the report says. It ranks smaller government as ipso facto better, making no evaluations of how revenue is spent or on what.

The other governors receiving A’s were Sam Brownback of Kansas, Rick Scott of Florida and Paul LePage of Maine. The governors of Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota and Hawaii received F’s.