Robert A. Lawson

Clinical Professor in Economics and Director, Bridwell Institute for Economic Freedom, Southern Methodist University

Robert A. Lawson is Clinical Professor in Economics, Jerome M. Fullinwider Centennial Chair in Economic Freedom, and Director of the Bridwell Institute for Economic Freedom in the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University.  He earned his B.S. in economics from the Honors Tutorial College at Ohio University and his M.S. and Ph.D. in economics from Florida State University. A Senior Fellow at the Fraser Institute, he has numerous professional publications in journals such as Public Choice, Cato Journal, Journal of Labor Research, Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics, and the European Journal of Political Economy.  Prof. Lawson has served as President of the Association of Private Enterprise Education and is a member of the Mont Pelerin Society.

Recent Research by Robert A. Lawson

— Sep 19, 2023
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Economic Freedom of the World: 2023 Annual Report

Economic Freedom of the World report measures the economic freedom of individuals—their ability to make their own economic decisions—by analyzing the policies and institutions of 165 jurisdictions. This year, for the first time in the history of the report, Hong Kong has fallen to second place overall while Canada has one of the fastest growth rates in size of government in the world.

— Aug 18, 2022
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Economic Freedom in the Literature

Economic Freedom in the Literature—What Is It Good (Bad) For? finds that according to a wide-ranging literary review, economic freedom helps produce faster economic growth, higher living standards and more happiness.