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Chapter 1 – the 10 Economic Freedoms

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Chapter 1 – the 10 Economic Freedoms ✔ Chapter 1 The 10 Economic Freedoms The existence of a free market does not of course eliminate the need for government. On the con- trary, government is essential both as a forum for determining the “rules of the game” and as an umpire to interpret and enforce the rules decided on. What the market does is to reduce greatly the range of issues that must be decided through political means, and thereby to minimize the extent to which government need participate directly in the game. Milton Friedman, Capitalism and Freedom conomic freedom is that aspect of human the ravages of nature or the predations of one liberty that is concerned with the material citizen over another so that positive economic Eautonomy of the individual in relation rights such as property and contract are given to the state and other organized groups. Indi- social as well as individual defense against the viduals are economically free if they can fully destructive tendencies of others. control their own labor and property. Economic A comprehensive definition of economic freedom is related to—and is perhaps a neces- freedom should encompass all liberties and rights sary condition for—political freedom, but it is of production, distribution, or consumption of goods also valuable as an end in itself.1 and services. The highest form of economic freedom should provide an absolute right of property owner- defining economic freedom ship; fully realized freedoms of movement for labor, The authors of the Index of Economic Free- capital, and goods; and an absolute absence of coer- dom perceive economic freedom as a positive cion or constraint of economic liberty beyond the concept, recognizing that its traditional defini- extent necessary for citizens to protect and main- tion as an absence of government coercion or tain liberty itself. In other words, individuals constraint must also include a sense of liberty in an economically free society would be free as distinct from anarchy. Governments are and entitled to work, produce, consume, and instituted to create basic protections against invest in any way they please under a rule of law, with their freedom at once both protected and respected by the state. 1. Milton Friedman, Capitalism and Freedom (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1962), All government action involves coercion. esp. Chapter 1, “The Relation Between Economic Some minimal coercion is necessary for the citi- Freedom and Political Freedom,” pp. 7–17. zens of a community or nation to defend them- 11 selves, promote the evolution of civil society, nomic freedom are external in nature, mea- and enjoy the fruits of their labor. This Lockean suring the extent of an economy’s openness idea is embodied in the U.S. Constitution. For to investment or trade. Most are internal in example, citizens are taxed to provide revenue nature, assessing the liberty of individuals to for the protection of person and property as well use their labor or finances without restraint as for the common defense. Most political theo- and government interference. Each is vital to rists also accept that certain goods—what econo- the development of personal and national pros- mists call “public goods”—can be supplied more perity. The fundamental right of property, for efficiently by government than through private example, has been recognized for centuries by means. Of particular interest are those economic the great philosophers of liberty, such as Locke freedoms that are also public goods, such as the and Montesquieu, as a bulwark of free people. maintenance of a police force to protect prop- Over time, scholars and practitioners have rec- erty rights, a monetary authority to maintain a ognized many other pillars of economic liberty, sound currency, and an impartial judiciary to including free trade, stable money, the right to enforce contracts among parties. work, control of government spending, and When government coercion rises beyond lower taxation. Over the past 15 years, the Index the minimal level, however, it becomes corro- has grown and improved its measurement of sive to freedom—and the first freedom affected countries’ capacity to create environments that is economic freedom. Logically, an expansion allow economic opportunity to flourish. of state power requires enforcement and there- The 10 specific economic freedoms mea- fore funding, which is extracted from the peo- sured in the Index of Economic Freedom are ple. Exactly where that line is crossed is open to discussed below. Each of the freedoms is indi- reasoned debate. vidually scored. A country’s overall economic Throughout history, governments have freedom score is a simple average of its scores imposed a wide array of constraints on eco- on the 10 individual freedoms. Detailed infor- nomic activity. Constraining economic choice mation about the methodology used to score distorts and diminishes the production, distri- each component is contained in the appendix. bution, and consumption of goods and services (including, of course, labor services).2 The estab- Freedom #1: Business Freedom lishment of price controls is perhaps the clear- Business freedom is about an individual’s est example of the distortionary effect of state right to create, operate, and close an enterprise coercion because of its well-known disruption without interference from the state. Burden- of the equilibrium of supply and demand. some, redundant regulatory rules are the most common barriers to the free conduct of entre- measuring economic freedom preneurial activities. As the first comprehensive study of eco- Regulations are a form of taxation that nomic freedom ever published, the 1995 Index makes it difficult for entrepreneurs to cre- of Economic Freedom defined a method of mea- ate value. Although many regulations hinder suring and ranking freedom in such vastly dif- businesses, the most important are associated ferent places as Hong Kong and North Korea. with licensing new companies and businesses. The Index looks at economic freedom from In some countries, as well as many states in 10 different viewpoints. Some aspects of eco- the United States, the procedure for obtaining a business license can be as simple as mailing 2. “The property which every man has in his in a registration form with a minimal fee. In own labour, as it is the original foundation of Hong Kong, for example, obtaining a business all other property, so it is the most sacred and license requires filling out a single form, and inviolable.” Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature the process can be completed in a few hours. In and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (New York: The Modern Library, 1937), pp. 121–122; first published other countries, such as India and countries in in 1776. parts of South America, the process involved 12 2009 Index of Economic Freedom in obtaining a business license requires endless debt that ultimately must be paid off through trips to government offices and can take a year taxation. or more. The marginal tax rate confronting an indi- Once a business is open, government regu- vidual is, in effect, the government’s cut of lation does not always subside; in some cases, it the profit from his or her next unit of work or increases. Interestingly, two countries with the engagement in a new entrepreneurial venture; same set of regulations can impose different whatever remains after the tax is subtracted is regulatory burdens. If one country, for instance, the individual’s actual reward for this effort. applies its regulations evenly and transparent- The higher the government’s cut, the lower ly, it lowers the regulatory burden by enabling the individual’s reward—and the lower the businesses to make long-term plans more eas- incentive to undertake the work at all. Higher ily. If the other applies regulations inconsistent- tax rates both interfere with the ability of indi- ly, it raises the regulatory burden by creating an viduals and firms to pursue their goals in the unpredictable business environment. Finally, marketplace and reduce, on average, their will- regulations that make it difficult and expensive ingness to work or invest. to close business are disincentives for entrepre- While individual and corporate income neurs to start them in the first place. tax rates are important to economic freedom, they are not a comprehensive measure of the Freedom #2: Trade Freedom tax burden. Governments impose many other Trade freedom reflects the openness of an taxes, including payroll, sales, and excise taxes, economy to imports of goods and services from tariffs, and the value-added tax (VAT). One way around the world and the ability of citizens to to capture all taxation is to measure total gov- interact freely as buyers and sellers in the inter- ernment revenues from all forms of taxation as national marketplace. a percentage of total GDP. Trade restrictions can take the form of taxes on imports and exports, quotas or outright bans Freedom #4: Government Size on trade, and regulatory barriers. The degree to The burden of excessive government is a which government hinders the free flow of for- central issue in economic freedom, both in eign commerce has a direct bearing on the ability terms of generating revenue (see fiscal free- of individuals to pursue their economic goals. dom) and in terms of expenditure. Tariffs directly increase the prices that local Government expenditures are often justified consumers pay for foreign imports, but they in terms of “public goods” that are provided also distort production incentives for local pro- efficiently by the state rather than by the mar- ducers, causing them to produce either a good ket. There is also a justification for correcting in which they lack a comparative advantage market failures through government action. or more of a protected good than is economi- Unfortunately, a government’s insulation from cally efficient.
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