Bridwell Institute for Economic Freedom

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Bridwell Institute for Economic Freedom The mission of the Bridwell Institute is to foster the scholarly study of economic freedom.

📰 New Op-EdShould politicians have to reach a broader consensus to raise our taxes?The Bridwell Institute’s Dean Stansel...
10/14/2026

📰 New Op-Ed

Should politicians have to reach a broader consensus to raise our taxes?

The Bridwell Institute’s Dean Stansel and John Hendrickson (Iowans for Tax Relief Foundation) discuss how supermajority requirements for tax increases can help restrain the growth of government. Currently 16 states have such a rule. Texas does not, but three of our neighboring states do: Arkansas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma.

Taxes take money from private individuals who generally know best how to spend it and put that money in the hands of politicians, who are less equipped to spend it

Economic freedom and tolerance might not seem like natural bedfellows, but in today's Substack post Meg Tuszynski explor...
10/13/2026

Economic freedom and tolerance might not seem like natural bedfellows, but in today's Substack post Meg Tuszynski explores the ways in which economically free societies are also more tolerant on a variety of different margins.

"Markets don’t require people to be virtuous to push them toward treating strangers decently; they reward it. The baker doesn’t need to love you to sell you bread, and over time, the habit of dealing fairly with people who are different from you seems to change how you see them."

Read more here:

The Economics of Getting Along

You know the story: capitalism begets economic growth, growth means burning natural resources, and burning natural resou...
10/08/2026

You know the story: capitalism begets economic growth, growth means burning natural resources, and burning natural resources destroys the environment.

As Meg Tuszynski explores in today's Substack post, it turns out that story isn’t real. Economic freedom and the environment not only coexist peacefully, but places with more economic freedom also tend to have cleaner natural environments.

It’s not a tradeoff. It’s a win-win situation.

The answer is friends. Definitely friends.

The 2026 Economic Freedom of the World Annual Report was released today. Meg Tuszynski's newest Substack post provides a...
10/06/2026

The 2026 Economic Freedom of the World Annual Report was released today. Meg Tuszynski's newest Substack post provides a high-level overview on what’s new in this edition. Check out out, then head over to FreeTheWorld.com to see where your favorite countries rank. You can also find the full report there.

https://efexplained.substack.com/p/the-world-just-got-a-little-freer

Highlights from the Newest Economic Freedom of the World Index, Out Today

"This isn’t just a lesson in vocabulary (though I do hope you walk away understanding that Sweden isn’t socialist). Labe...
10/01/2026

"This isn’t just a lesson in vocabulary (though I do hope you walk away understanding that Sweden isn’t socialist). Labels shape policy, and if people think Nordic success is due to socialism, they’ll push for policies that chip away at the foundations of a prosperous society. My post has focused primarily on Sweden, but the same can be said for all of the Nordic countries. Economic freedom made these places rich, and once they were rich, they could afford to layer on a large and generous welfare state, paid for by a large and ungenerous tax system."

Read more from Meg Tuszynski's new Substack post here:

And the Nordic Countries Aren’t Socialist

The Bridwell Institute’s Dean Stansel appeared on the Talk Story with Keli'i Akina show on ThinkTech Hawaii to discuss w...
09/30/2026

The Bridwell Institute’s Dean Stansel appeared on the Talk Story with Keli'i Akina show on ThinkTech Hawaii to discuss what economic freedom means and why it matters to Hawaii. Hawaii ranked 48th on the latest Economic Freedom of North America report.

Economic Freedom: What it Means and why it Matters to Hawaii; Why H...

"As I see it, the key takeaway from all of this muddy and conflicting literature is this. If you care about inequality b...
09/29/2026

"As I see it, the key takeaway from all of this muddy and conflicting literature is this. If you care about inequality because you care about the poor, then you should be in favor of policies that expand economic freedom. If you care about inequality because you care about fairness, you should at minimum be in favor of the component that pertains to well-defined property rights and enforced rule of law. If you care about inequality just because some people have more than others, I’m not sure any policy can fix that."

Read more of Meg Tuszynski's new Substack post here:

It’s Complicated

We know from decades of research that economic freedom is strongly linked to economic growth. But does that growth reach...
09/24/2026

We know from decades of research that economic freedom is strongly linked to economic growth. But does that growth reach the poorest in society?

In today’s Substack post, Meg Tuszynski surveys the research on economic freedom and poverty. It turns out, economic freedom isn’t just good for the wealthy or the average citizen. It’s really, really beneficial for people with the lowest incomes.

Perhaps the most stunning punchline: the income threshold for the poorest 10% of society is nearly EIGHT TIMES higher in the freest countries than in the least free countries.

If policymakers want to help the poor, focusing on the policies that expand economic freedom is an evidence-backed way to do it. Freer markets aren't a trade-off against helping the poor. They're one of the best tools we have for it.

250 years after Adam Smith, the evidence on whether freedom’s gains reach the poor

Does economic freedom just make us richer, or does it also make us happier? In today's Substack post, Meg Tuszynski digs...
09/22/2026

Does economic freedom just make us richer, or does it also make us happier?

In today's Substack post, Meg Tuszynski digs into two decades of research on economic freedom and happiness. The headline finding is remarkably stubborn: across countries, states, and metro areas, people in economically freer places tend to report being happier.

But the full story isn't quite that simple. Questions remain about the direction of causality, and whether people are happier with more economic freedom or in places where the level of freedom fits their preferences.

Read more here:

Sorry, Janis. It actually might be another word for a happier life.

New research finds higher minimum wages are associated with fewer entry-level employment opportunities and higher econom...
09/22/2026

New research finds higher minimum wages are associated with fewer entry-level employment opportunities and higher economic freedom is associated with more such opportunities.

By Hal W. Snarr, Cephas B. Naanwaab. State interventions such as minimum wage laws and broader restrictions on economic freedom distort entrepreneurial calculation by altering price signals, labor costs, and incentives guiding resource allocation.

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