Economics Finance & Management
Economic Freedom Institute
"In the general course of human nature, a power over a man's subsistence amounts to a power over his will." - Alexander Hamilton
"Experience should teach us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the government's purposes are beneficial. Men born to freedom are naturally alert to repel invasions of their liberty by evil-minded rulers. The greater dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding." - Justice Louis Brandeis
These statements by Hamilton and Brandeis are parts of a debate regarding economic freedom which has involved eminent scholars as well as political, religious, labor, and business leaders for more than two centuries. The freedom of people to pursue their economic interests is connected closely by some scholars with the very rise and fall of nations. The following questions illustrate the dimensions of this concern.
A FEW VITAL QUESTIONS:
- Should trade among nations always be free?
- What is the proper economic role of government - federal, state, local - in our society?
- Can financial markets operate in the presence of large degrees of economic freedom?
- What monetary and fiscal policies are most consistent with economic freedom?
- To what extent should the law promote or constrain economic freedom?
- Have the limits to freedom in private enterprise gone too far or not far enough?
- What are the conditions which best generate business and social entrepreneurship?
- Are labor unions consistent with economic freedom?
- To what extent should economic freedom be abridged to assure a minimum of well-being in our society?
- Would educational quality improve if there were greater economic freedom in its delivery?
- Would the quality and distribution of health care be improved if there were greater economic freedom in its delivery?
- To what extent does economic freedom conflict with and reinforce and complement other freedoms?
- Do nations rise and fall because of their treatment of economic freedom?
GOAL:
The Economic Freedom Institute is a new enterprise which will catalyze both the popular and scholarly discussion of issues related to economic freedom such as those suggested by the preceding questions. This endeavor has importance and broad scope, as these questions above surely indicate.
The tools of applied economics are well developed and well integrated into college and professional school curricula. However, the efficacy and value of public policies which promote or impinge upon economic freedom are less discussed and less well understood.
EFI provides a forum for the study, analysis, and discussion of the nature of economic freedom and its implications. It fosters the exchange and development of ideas concerning policies and programs of importance in regional, national, and international arenas. Open to a variety of viewpoints and philosophies, participants in EFI include scholars, corporate executives, and officials from labor unions, non-profit institutions, and various levels of government.
EFI's primary audience is Westchester and Fairfield counties, an area possessing a highly educated and interested population but one in which there exist few vehicles to conduct sophisticated discussions of economic liberties. EFI will assure that these counties have a place in the discussions; and representatives from private and public institutions, including secondary schools, will be invited to its functions.
Edward W. Ryan, Professor of Economics at Manhattanville College, directs EFI and will continue to do so in the future. A member of the Manhattanville community for many years, Professor Ryan's major field of scholarly inquiry is economic freedom. Currently at work on a book to be titled Economic Freedom in America he is the author of In The Words of Adam Smith: The First Consumer Advocate, published by Thomas Horton And Daughters with a foreword by William E. Simon.
MANHATTANVILLE COLLEGE:
Founded in 1841, Manhattanville College, located in Westchester County, New York, is a coeducational, nonsectarian institution. It offers more than 30 majors, including economics, finance, management, and international management, and several graduate programs. Students are drawn from over 35 states and more than 40 nations. Manhattanville is an institution which works closely with its students, enabling them to acquire analytical and critical depth from a liberal education as well as the skills required by the marketplace. The faculty is an accomplished and dedicated body, known for its teaching and for its professional engagement. The College is justly proud of a most distinguished alumni body.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
ECONOMIC FREEDOM INSTITUTE
Edward W. Ryan, Director
Manhattanville College
2900 Purchase Street
Purchase, NY 10577
phone (914) 694-3372
fax (914) 694-2386.