Economic Freedom in the US: What’s New? What’s Not? (Virtual)

Each year, the Canadian Fraser Institute releases the Economic Freedom of North America annual report, which details the extent to which the policies of individual provinces and states are supportive of economic freedom, the ability of individuals to act in the economic sphere free of undue restrictions. The 2020 edition of the index was released in early November, and while no state experienced any dramatic swing in its freedom ranking, there were some noticeable movements. How did Texas fare relative to other states?

RSVP and join AF-Dallas as Dean Stansel discusses these new rankings, and speculates on the impact the appearance of coronavirus might have on future rankings. This is a virtual event – please note that registration is required in order to receive the Zoom link.

Since 2013, Dean Stansel has been the lead author of this Index. In the same year, Stansel published the first-ever local index of economic freedom (a new version of which was published in 2019). Arguably, he knows more about economic freedom in the U.S. than any living person. Dean Stansel is a Senior Research Fellow at the Bridwell Institute for Economic Freedom. Before entering academia, Stansel worked for seven years at the Cato Institute, a public policy research organization in Washington, D.C., where he produced over 60 publications on fiscal policy issues. Stansel’s academic publications have appeared in the Journal of Urban Economics, Public Finance Review, Journal of Housing Research, Journal of Regional Analysis and Policy, Review of Law and Economics, and Cato Journal, among others, and has been cited in numerous publications including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and Atlanta Journal-Constitution. His op-eds have appeared in Investor’s Business Daily, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, and many other local newspapers. Stansel earned his PhD and MA in economics from George Mason University and his BA in economics (with honors) and politics from Wake Forest University.