An Economic Freedom Index for U.S. Metropolitan Areas

Dean B. Stansel

Journal of Regional Analysis and Policy, 2013, vol. 43, issue 01

Abstract: This paper is the first attempt to produce an economic freedom index for local economies in the U.S. It provides a more comprehensive measure of the restrictions government places upon economic freedom compared to simple fiscal measures like total government spending or revenue. That makes it a valuable tool for a wide variety of researchers seeking to investigate the impact of government upon society, including regional economists and researchers in state and local public finance. The two economic freedom indices of nations have stimulated a large body of such research. There are several similar indices that provide the same tool for those examining state governments. Like the other two sets of indices, higher levels of local economic freedom are found to be correlated with positive economic outcomes such as higher per capita income and lower unemployment.

Keywords: Community/Rural/Urban Development; Labor and Human Capital; Public Economics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (27)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:jrapmc:243944

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.243944

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