The link between freedom and growth was present throughout and is best appreciated by examining the effects of significant changes between 1975 and 1995 on the growth rate of the countries in our study. Smaller increases in economic freedom were associated with slower rates of growth. The relationship between a freer economy and the higher growth illustrated by these statistics is no coincidence. The index measures real elements of economic structures and policies. The consistent, positive relationship between economic freedom and economic growth provides powerful evidence that Adam Smith was right more than 200 years ago.
Free economies give citizens the opportunity for more productivity and higher incomes.