The tradeoff between economic freedom and economic performance: a classroom exercise

Abstract

This study describes a straightforward classroom exercise that highlights the general tradeoff between the level of economic freedom and economic performance (measures of a population’s well-being) using the Index of Economic Freedom (IEF) that is published annually by the Heritage Foundation. The classroom exercise focuses on the relationship between economic freedom and economic performance and is amenable to either group or individual effort by way of a brief writing project or oral presentation. The classroom exercise is tailored to both principles of economics students and those in various upper-level economics courses (e.g., comparative economic systems, public choice, and introduction to econometrics).