Prosperity through Freedom

Religious Freedom and Economic Prosperity

The basic notion that an individual’s freedom to choose will advance society at large is a cornerstone of political philosophy and of the economic theory of the Western world. Early political philosophers such as John Stuart Mill and legendary economists such as Adam Smith have advocated a utilitarian approach to political and economic life, in which the advancement of one’s own interests also ...

Economic Freedom: Policies for Prosperity

To build a better world, we must have the courage to make a new start. We must clear away the obstacles with which human folly has recently encumbered our path and release the creative energy of individuals. We must create conditions favourable to progress rather than “planning progress.”... The guiding principle in any attempt to create a world of free men must be this: a policy of freedom for...

Freedom and Prosperity in Liechtenstein: a Hoppean Analysis

LIECHTENSTEIN HAS LONG BEEN recognized as one of the most free and prosperous countries in the world. However, there has been little analysis of Liechtenstein’s development because the scant research that existed was in German and therefore inaccessible to most American scholars. Furthermore, many saw no need to study Liechtenstein, viewing it as an accident of history with an anachronistic pol...

Gambling on Lotteries and Casinos in Tennessee Chapter in Freedom and Prosperity in Tennessee

Patience and prosperity

This paper introduces wealth-dependent time preference into a simple model of endogenous growth. The model generates adjustment dynamics in line with the historical facts on savings and economic growth in Europe from the High Middle Ages to today. Along a virtuous cycle of development more wealth leads to more patience, which leads to more savings and even higher wealth. Savings rates and incom...