Handbook of Research on Economic Freedom

This seminal Handbook provides a comprehensive overview of contemporary research on economic freedom, using multidisciplinary methods to assess studies of the determinants and consequences of market-oriented institutions and policies. Niclas Berggren brings together world-leading experts in their respective fields to explore the notion of economic freedom in the history of economic thought, to present measures of economic freedom and to provide overviews of the latest empirical research. Chapters cover a wide range of topics, such as how religion, democracy and immigration affect the extent to which societies are market-oriented, and how economic freedom relates to economic growth, entrepreneurship and happiness. Chapters also address claims that economic freedom causes socioeconomic cleavages, a worse life for women and environmental degradation. Looking forward, the Handbook of Research on Economic Freedom presents cutting-edge research and proposes key policy recommendations for future institutional reform and development. This Handbook will prove a vital read for academics, researchers and students across economics and finance, and related disciplines, interested in institutions, capitalism, the market economy and economic freedom. Summarizing crucial studies on the consequences of liberalizing reforms, it will also be of great benefit to governmental public policy-makers.