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The Hayek–Friedman hypothesis on the press: is there an association between economic freedom and press freedom?

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  • BJØRNSKOV, CHRISTIAN

Abstract

The Hayek–Friedman hypothesis states that economic freedom is causally associated with stable democracy. I test a particular element of the hypothesis focusing on press freedom, which is arguably a necessary 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 in economic freedom are associated with subsequent improvements of press freedom. The overall association is mainly driven by changes in market openness.

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  • Bjørnskov, Christian, 2018. "The Hayek–Friedman hypothesis on the press: is there an association between economic freedom and press freedom?," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 14(4), pages 617-638, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:jinsec:v:14:y:2018:i:04:p:617-638_00
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    1. Wintrobe,Ronald, 2000. "The Political Economy of Dictatorship," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521794497, January.
    2. Djankov, Simeon & McLiesh, Caralee & Nenova, Tatiana & Shleifer, Andrei, 2003. "Who Owns the Media?," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 46(2), pages 341-381, October.
    3. Egorov, Georgy & Guriev, Sergei & Sonin, Konstantin, 2009. "Why Resource-poor Dictators Allow Freer Media: A Theory and Evidence from Panel Data," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 103(4), pages 645-668, November.
    4. Peter T. Leeson, 2008. "Media Freedom, Political Knowledge, and Participation," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 22(2), pages 155-169, Spring.
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    Cited by:

    1. Yoon, Hyungseok (David) & Boudreaux, Christopher & Kim, Namil, 2024. "Connecting the dots between democracy and innovation: The role of pro-market institutions and information processing," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(8).
    2. Bjørnskov, Christian & Freytag, Andreas & Gutmann, Jerg, 2022. "Coups and the dynamics of media freedom," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    3. Berggren, Niclas & Bjørnskov, Christian, 2024. "Economic freedom and academic freedom across nations," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20, pages 1-1, January.
    4. Rosemarie Fike, 2023. "Do disruptions to the market process corrupt our morals?," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 36(1), pages 99-106, March.
    5. Ryan H. Murphy, 2019. "Governance and the dimensions of autocracy," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 30(2), pages 131-148, June.
    6. Bjørnskov, Christian & Schröder, Philipp J.H., 2023. "Press freedom, market information, and international trade," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    7. Bjørnskov, Christian & Mchangama, Jacob, 2023. "Freedom of Expression and Social Conflict," Working Paper Series 1473, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.

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