Economic Freedom Measure

An Economic Freedom Measure is an agency measure that is based on an ability to make economic decisions.

• AKA: Economic Autonomy.
  • output: an Economic Freedom Score.
  • It can range from being a Individual Economic Freedom to being a Family Economic Freedom to being a Community Economic Freedom to being a Organizational Economic Freedom to being a Corporate Economic Freedom to being a National Economic Freedom.
  • It can range from being a Comprehensive Economic Freedom Measure to being a Focused Economic Freedom Measure.
  • It can inform policy debates regarding the impact of regulatory policies and economic reforms on individual freedoms.
  • It can be employed by research institutions, think tanks, and government agencies to analyze economic conditions and propose improvements.
  • ...
• Example(s):
  • For individuals and families:
    • Measures of individual economic choice and opportunity.
    • Assessments of financial independence and self-sufficiency.
  • For communities and organizations:
    • Evaluations of local economic vitality and dynamism.
    • Indicators of business autonomy and free enterprise.
  • For nations and economic systems:
    • Index of Economic Freedom that showcases the economic policies and openness of various countries.
    • Fraser Institute's Economic Freedom of the World report demonstrates the correlation between economic freedom and economic growth.
  • ...
• Counter-Example(s):
  • Political Freedom, which focuses on the ability to political participation.
• See: Agency (Philosophy), Economic Liberalism, Ethics (Journal), Focused Economic Freedom Measure, Free Market, Free Trade, Indices of Economic Freedom, Philosophy of Economics, Policy Debate, Private Property, Regulatory Policies, Right to an Adequate Standard of Living.

---

---

References

2024

• LLM
  • An Economic Freedom Measure, also known as Economic Autonomy, is an indicator that assesses the extent to which individuals or entities have the ability to make their own economic decisions. This measure typically evaluates factors such as the freedom to choose how to produce, sell, and use one's own resources, the absence of coercion or constraint by the state or other entities, and the protection of property rights. It reflects the degree of economic independence and self-determination available to individuals or organizations within a given economic system.

2024

• (Wikipedia, 2024) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/economic_freedom Retrieved:2024-6-11.
  • Economic freedom, or economic liberty, refers to the agency of people to make economic decisions. This is a term used in economic and policy debates as well as in the philosophy of economics. One approach to economic freedom comes from the liberal tradition emphasizing free markets, free trade, and private property. Another approach to economic freedom extends the welfare economics study of individual choice, with greater economic freedom coming from a larger set of possible choices. Other conceptions of economic freedom include freedom from want and the freedom to engage in collective bargaining.

    The liberal free-market viewpoint defines economic liberty as the freedom to produce, trade and consume any goods and services acquired without the use of force, fraud, theft or government regulation. This is embodied in the rule of law, property rights and freedom of contract, and characterized by external and internal openness of the markets, the protection of property rights and freedom of economic initiative. There are several indices of economic freedom that attempt to measure free market economic freedom. Based on these rankings, correlative studies have found higher economic growth to be correlated with higher scores on the country rankings. Critics of this approach, such as Fredrik Carlsson and Susanna Lundström, have argued that the economic freedom indices conflate unrelated policies and policy outcomes, for example counting lower corruption as an indicator of economic freedom, to conceal negative correlations between economic growth and free-market policies.

• • NOTES:
    • The article highlights that a secure system of private property rights is a necessary part of economic freedom, including the right to control and benefit from property and the right to transfer property by voluntary means.
    • The article explains that freedom of contract is crucial for economic freedom, allowing individuals to choose their contracting parties and trade under any terms and conditions they see fit.
    • The article discusses the relationship between economic and political freedom, suggesting that economic freedom is a necessary condition for political freedom.
    • The article mentions that indices such as Economic Freedom of the World and the Index of Economic Freedom are used to measure the degree of economic freedom in various nations.
    • The article describes the concept of positive and negative freedom, where positive freedom is the capacity to act on one's free will, and negative freedom is the absence of obstacles or constraints.
    • The article notes that the nature of economic freedom is often disputed, with some economists criticizing current indicators for not fully capturing the broader conception of economic freedoms.
    • The article observes that economic freedom tends to correlate with higher GDP per capita, better healthcare, education quality, and overall happiness, although it may also lead to short-term increases in inequality.

---