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Do Changes in Economic Freedom affect Well-Being?

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  • Belasen, Ariel R.
  • Hafer, R.W.

Abstract

In this paper we test the relationship between changes in economic freedom and wellbeing. Unlike previous work which has relied on international data sets, the novelty of this paper is that we use state-level data. Using the economic freedom measures provided by the Fraser Institute and a recently published data set on well-being across states, we find that improvements in economic freedom lead to increases in well-being for the average state. Further analysis shows that the presence of regional variations across the states may in fact suggest differences in optimal freedom levels between regions.

Suggested Citation

  • Belasen, Ariel R. & Hafer, R.W., 2013. "Do Changes in Economic Freedom affect Well-Being?," Journal of Regional Analysis and Policy, Mid-Continent Regional Science Association, vol. 43(1).
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:jrapmc:243948
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.243948
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    Cited by:

    1. Murphy, Ryan H., 2016. "A Short Empirical Note on State Misery Indexes," Journal of Regional Analysis and Policy, Mid-Continent Regional Science Association, vol. 46(2), December.
    2. Jeremy Jackson, 2017. "Free to Be Happy: Economic Freedom and Happiness in US States," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 18(4), pages 1207-1229, August.
    3. Hadsell, Lester & Jones, Adam T, 2020. "The company you keep: Satisfaction with life, economic freedom, and preference-policy mismatch," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(3), pages 642-657.
    4. Ballinger, T. Parker & Habegger, Wendy & Jones, Clifton T. & Thompson, Mark A., 2016. "Convergence in Venture Capital Investments: Evidence from a Panel of 18 US Regions," Journal of Regional Analysis and Policy, Mid-Continent Regional Science Association, vol. 46(2), December.
    5. Foley, Maggie & Clark, J.R., 2016. "Economic Freedom and Real Income," Journal of Regional Analysis and Policy, Mid-Continent Regional Science Association, vol. 46(1).
    6. Olalekan Charles Okunlola & Anthony E. Akinlo, 2021. "Does economic freedom enhance quality of life in Africa?," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 68(3), pages 357-387, September.
    7. Keshab Bhattarai, 2016. "Growth and Income Distributions in Four EU Economies," International Advances in Economic Research, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 22(3), pages 263-277, August.
    8. Cebula, Richard J. & Foley, Maggie & Capener, Don, 2015. "The Impact of Economic Freedom on the Unemployment Rate in O.E.C.D. Nations: An Exploratory Study Accepting the Validity of Okun’s Law - L’impatto della libertà economica sul tasso di disoccupazione n," Economia Internazionale / International Economics, Camera di Commercio Industria Artigianato Agricoltura di Genova, vol. 68(4), pages 423-436.
    9. Cebula, Richard & Clark, Jeff, 2014. "Impact of Economic Freedom, Regulatory Quality, and Taxation on the Per Capita Real Income: An Analysis for OECD Nations and Non-G8 OECD Nations," MPRA Paper 56605, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Joshua C. Hall & Dean Stansel & Danko Tarabar, 2015. "Economic Freedom Studies at the State Level: A Survey," Working Papers 15-07, Department of Economics, West Virginia University.
    11. Lucas, David & Boudreaux, Christopher, 2018. "Federal Regulation, Job Creation, and the Moderating Effect of State Economic Freedom," MPRA Paper 92593, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Khatiwada, Lila K., 2014. "Modeling and Explaining County-level Prosperity in the U.S," Journal of Regional Analysis and Policy, Mid-Continent Regional Science Association, vol. 44(2).
    13. Cebula, Richard & Foley, Maggie, 2017. "The Effect of Labor Market Freedom and other Factors on US Settlement Pattern Decisions, 2012 and 2014," Economia Internazionale / International Economics, Camera di Commercio Industria Artigianato Agricoltura di Genova, vol. 70(2), pages 133-152.
    14. Jackson, Jeremy & Beaulier, Scott, 2023. "Economic freedom and philanthropy," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 214(C), pages 148-183.
    15. Richard J. Cebula, 2016. "Do Regional Differentials in Economic Freedom Yield Regional Unemployment Rate Differentials in the U.S.? A Brief Exploratory Note Adopting Panel Data Analysis," Econometrics Letters, Bilimsel Mektuplar Organizasyonu (Scientific letters), vol. 3(1), pages 11-25.
    16. Bologna, Jamie, 2014. "A Spatial Analysis of Entrepreneurship and Institutional Quality: Evidence from U.S. Metropolitan Areas," Journal of Regional Analysis and Policy, Mid-Continent Regional Science Association, vol. 44(2).

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