Policy Forum 

# *Freedom in the 50 States: An Index of Personal and Economic Freedom*

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Date and Time 

November 30, 2023 12 - 1 PM EST 

Location 

Cato Institute, 1000 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, DC 

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##### Featuring 

[![Media Name: w-ruger-cropped.jpg](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/authors/crops/w-ruger-cropped.jpg?itok=rbQWdqZ2)](/people/william-ruger) 

[William Ruger](/people/william-ruger)

President, American Institute for Economic Research, and Research Fellow, Cato Institute

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](https://x.com/willruger) 

[![Media Name: barcelona-cropped.jpg](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/authors/crops/barcelona-cropped.jpg?itok=_CRShKaF)](/people/jason-sorens) 

[Jason Sorens](/people/jason-sorens)

Senior Research Faculty, American Institute for Economic Research, and Adjunct Scholar, Cato Institute

[![ErecSmith-cropped.jpg](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2023-02/ErecSmith-cropped.jpg?itok=p8wlcACq)](/people/erec-smith) 

[Erec Smith](/people/erec-smith)

Research Fellow, Cato Institute, and Cofounder, Free Black Thought

[ 

](https://x.com/Rhetors_of_York) 

How free is your state? In the seventh edition of [*Freedom in the 50 States*](https://www.freedominthe50states.org/), authors Jason Sorens and William P. Ruger answer that question with the most comprehensive measure of governmental respect for economic and personal freedom at the state level. The 2023 edition presents a revised and updated ranking of each state and introduces many new policy variables and changes in the broader policy environment, including a retrospective evaluation of each state’s COVID-19 response as well as a refreshed analysis of how the policies driving income growth and interstate migration have changed. Join us for a discussion with the authors moderated by Erec Smith, research fellow at the Cato Institute.

**Lunch to follow.**

[![Freedom in the 50 States 2023 front cover image](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/promo_block/public/2023-11/50States_2023_cover.jpg?itok=YIFMg8cR)](https://www.freedominthe50states.org/) 

##### Featured Study 

### *[Freedom in the 50 States: An Index of Personal and Economic Freedom](https://www.freedominthe50states.org/)*

This study ranks the American states according to how their public policies affect individual freedoms in the economic, social, and personal spheres. The 2023 edition updates and expands on the six [previous editions](https://www.freedominthe50states.org/about) of *Freedom in the 50 States*. It examines state and local government intervention across a wide range of policy categories—from taxation to debt, from eminent domain laws to occupational licensing, and from drug policy to educational choice.

[Read the Study](https://www.freedominthe50states.org/) 

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This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).