Hayek-Friedman in the Press: Is There an Association between Economic Freedom and Press Freedom?

35 Pages Posted: 26 Mar 2016

See all articles by Christian Bjørnskov

Christian Bjørnskov

Aarhus University - Department of Economics and Business; Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN); Center for Political Studies; Institute for Corruption Studies

Date Written: March 25, 2016

Abstract

The Hayek-Friedman Hypothesis states that economic freedom is a prerequisite for stable democracy. I test a variant of the hypothesis focusing on press freedom, which is arguably an important component of any democratic polity. Combining the Freedom House index of press freedom and the Heritage Foundation Index of Economic Freedom yields a large annual panel dataset between 1993 and 2011. Estimates show that improvements of economic freedom are associated with subsequent improvements of press freedom. The overall association is mainly driven by changes in market openness.

Keywords: Democracy, Economic Freedom, Press Freedom, Human Rights

JEL Classification: D78, H11, L10, P50

Suggested Citation

Bjørnskov, Christian, Hayek-Friedman in the Press: Is There an Association between Economic Freedom and Press Freedom? (March 25, 2016). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2754651 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2754651

Christian Bjørnskov (Contact Author)

Aarhus University - Department of Economics and Business ( email )

Fuglesangs Allé 4
Aarhus V, DK-8210
Denmark

Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN) ( email )

Box 55665
Grevgatan 34, 2nd floor
Stockholm, SE-102 15
Sweden

Center for Political Studies

Landgreven 3
Copenhagen K, DK-1301
Denmark

Institute for Corruption Studies

Stevenson Hall 425
Normal, IL 61790-4200
United States

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