Third Edition of Freedom in the 50 States

Today the Mercatus Center released the third edition of Freedom in the 50 States by Will Ruger and Jason Sorens. In this new edition, the authors score states on over 200 policy variables. Additionally, they have collected data from 2001 to measure how states' freedom rankings have changed over the past decade. While several organizations publish state freedom rankings, Freedom in the 50 States is the only one that measures both economic and personal freedoms.

Ruger and Sorens have implemented a new methodology for measuring freedom. While previously the authors developed a subjective weighting system in which they sought to determine how significantly policies limited the freedom of how many people, in this edition they have use a victim-cost method, assigning a dollar value to each variable that restricts freedom measuring the cost of restricting freedom for potential victims. The authors' cost calculations are designed to measure the value of the states' freedom for the average resident. Since individuals measure the cost of policies differently, readers can put their own price on each freedom variable on the website to find the states that best match their subjective policy preference.

In addition to an overall freedom ranking, Freedom in the 50 States includes a breakdown of states' Fiscal Policy Ranking, Regulatory Ranking, and Personal Freedom Ranking. On the overall freedom ranking, North Dakota comes in first followed by South Dakota, Tennessee, New Hampshire, and Oklahoma.  At the bottom of the ranking, New York ranks worst by a significant margin, with rent control and burdensome insurance regulations dragging down its regulatory freedom score. New York is behind California at 49th, then New Jersey, Hawaii, and Rhode Island. 

The authors note that residents respond to the costs of freedom-reducing policies by voting with their feet. Between 2000 and 2011, New York lost 9% of its population to out-migration. In addition to all types of freedom being associated with domestic migration, the authors find that regulatory freedom in particular is associated with states' growth in personal income. They conclude:

Freedom is not the only determinant of personal satisfaction and fulfillment, but as our analysis of migration patterns shows, it makes a tangible difference for people's decisions about where to live. Moreover, we fully expect people in the freer states to develop and benefit from the kinds of institutions (such as symphonies and museums) and amenities (such as better restaurants and cultural attractions) seen in some of the older cities on the coasts.

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These things take time, but the same kind of dynamic freedom enjoyed in Chicago or New York in the 19th century -- that led to their rise -- might propel places in the middle of the country to be a bit more hip to those with urbane tastes.