Hundreds of studies find economic freedom improves people’s lives

Economic freedom produces faster economic growth, higher living standards, and even increased happiness as people gain control of their lives, according to a wide-ranging research review released by the Free Market Foundation and the Fraser Institute.

“In the academic world, there’s a growing consensus that increased economic freedom correlates with positive outcomes for people in countries around the world,” said Robert A. Lawson, professor of economics at Southern Methodist University and author of Economic Freedom in the Literature—What Is It Good (Bad) For?

The review examined 721 empirical papers (published between 1996 and 2022) using the Economic Freedom of the World index, which measures economic freedom—the ability of individuals to make their own economic decisions—by analysing policies and institutions of jurisdictions and assessing indicators such as regulation, size of government, property rights, trade openness, government spending and taxation.