“If you care about improving people’s lives, then you really care about economic freedom”

How do we make life better for people?

Is there a relationship between the level of economic freedom in a country and the level of income, life expectancy, civil rights, and a cleaner environment? Is there an inverse relationship between the level of economic freedom and the level of corruption, infant mortality, and child labor?

The answer to both questions is yes.

The higher the level of economic freedom is in a country, the higher the level of those good things.  With more freedom there are less of those bad things. See this very innovative, creative video for a visual explanation:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1U1Jzdghjk&feature=player_embedded]

The graph sorts countries into four levels based on the amount of freedom. Various statistics are calculated based on the ranking of economic freedom.

Countries with the most economic freedom have per-person income that is eight times higher than the countries with the lowest level of economic freedom. Life expectancy is 19 years higher in countries with the most economic freedom compared to the least economically free.

There is a lower corruption index, dramatically lower infant mortality, and far less child labor in countries with the most economic freedom.

If you really want to make people better off, with higher income, better health, better civil rights, and just plain happier, there is a way to do it. Increase economic freedom.

If you want to drive all of those factors in the opposite direction, drive down economic freedom.

It is quite simple.  Very hard to do, but quite simple.

The best line in the video:

If you care about improving people’s lives, then you really care about economic freedom.

P.S. This is a two-fer. Wonderful use of visualization to illustrate complex data and great explanation of economics in one video.