The freedom to enter into contracts and to direct the use of economic resources one owns are essential to the operation of a market economy. Allowing employees to form unions to bargain collectively over wages and employment conditions is consistent with economic freedom, and any government...

Existing literature suggests that either colonial settlement conditions or the identity of colonizer were influential in shaping the post-colonial institutional environment, which in turn has impacted long-run economic development, but has treated the two potential identification strategies as...

This report analyzes the changes in economic freedom, political institutions, and performance of 25 former centrally planned (FCP) economies following the collapse of communism. The degree of economic freedom among these countries varied considerably. The FCP countries with higher levels of...

Economic theory and a growing body of empirical literature suggest that private property rights are an important determinant of economic development. In this paper, four commonly used measures of institutional protection of private property rights are assessed, including their relative ability...

The latest edition of this annual report, published in association with the Institute of Economic AffairsEconomic Freedom of the WorldThe index published in Economic Freedom of the World measures the degree to which the policies and institutions of countries are supportive of economic freedom....

The latest edition of this annual report, published in association with the Institute of Economic AffairsEconomic Freedom of the WorldThe index published in Economic Freedom of the World measures the degree to which the policies and institutions of countries are supportive of economic freedom....