This Mercatus on Policy uses data from the Freedom in the 50 States study to focus specifically on Pennsylvania and how it compares to other states in its fiscal, regulatory, economic and personal freedom.
We created Freedom in the Fifty States to develop an index of economic and personal freedom in the American states. Specifically, we examine state and local government intervention across a wide range of public policies, from income taxation to gun control, from homeschooling regulation to drug policy. The full index, complete with data and methodology notes, is available at https://www.mercatus.org/freedom-50-states-2011.
This issue of Mercatus on Policy focuses specifically on the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and how it compares to other states in its fiscal, regulatory, economic, and personal freedom. While freer than many of its neighbors, Pennsylvania still ranks below the median American state on three of our four measures of freedom. Overall, Pennsylvania shows a decrease in freedom from the last version of this index and has substantial room for improvement.