Economic Freedom as the Key to Academic Freedom: A Research Study Reveals Their Interconnection

Academic and economic freedoms are closely interlinked concepts that influence not only the development of science and education but also economic growth and societal stability. A study by Swedish researcher Niclas Berggren, based at the Prague University of Economics and Business, and Danish economist Christian Bjørnskov from Aarhus University reveals that the protection of property rights and the independence of academic institutions are essential for societal progress and innovation.

Academic and Economic Freedom: Two Sides of the Same Coin

Economic freedom includes the ability to own property, conduct business, and trade freely, while academic freedom guarantees independence in research, education, and publishing. The study Economic Freedom and Academic Freedom Across Nations, authored by Berggren and Bjørnskov, analyzed data from 127 countries worldwide between 2010 and 2015. The authors emphasize that the connection between these two forms of freedom can foster the creation of new ideas leading to technological innovations.

Berggren and Bjørnskov state: “Academic freedom has the potential to influence societal innovation when accompanied by appropriate conditions, such as the protection of property rights and a robust legal system.”

The Impact of Economic Freedom on Innovation

Economic freedom encourages entrepreneurship and allows resources to be allocated where they can be used most efficiently. This creates favorable conditions for academic freedom, which can contribute to the development of technologies and products that drive economic growth. The study by Berggren and Bjørnskov analyzes this impact and highlights the critical role of institutional quality in this process.

According to the data analyzed by the authors: “In countries with a high-quality legal system, there is a synergy between academic and economic freedom, creating an environment conducive to technological progress.”

The Role of Legal Systems and Institutions

A quality legal framework is essential for synergy between economic and academic freedom. According to Berggren and Bjørnskov, the impact of academic freedom on productivity is more pronounced in countries with independent judicial systems that protect property rights and ensure impartial enforcement of contracts.

The authors explain: “Without an independent judiciary, it is challenging to ensure that contracts and property rights are upheld, which limits the potential for innovation.”

Democracy as the Foundation of Freedoms

When the researchers analyzed historical and contemporary data on academic freedom from Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) and data on economic freedom from the 2021 annual report by economists James Gwartney, Robert Lawson, Joshua Hall, and Ryan Murphy, they found that democratic regimes are better at protecting both economic and academic freedom. In contrast, in authoritarian states, limited economic decision-making and a lack of academic independence hinder innovation and deepen societal inequalities.

“As in both democratic and autocratic regimes, academic freedom depends on the level of economic freedom. Data from 2010 to 2015 revealed that in non-democratic states where citizens cannot make independent economic decisions and governments exert pressure or unjustly interfere in business affairs, academic freedom suffers greatly,” Berggren and Bjørnskov note.

In a 2021 study, Academic Freedom, Institutions, and Productivity, the authors analyzed data from 127 countries between 1960 and 2015 to assess the relationship between academic freedom and labor productivity. They found that without the support of strong judicial institutions, academic freedom does not lead to increased productivity.
“The impact of academic freedom on productivity is positive and grows when the quality of the judicial system is sufficiently high,” they write.

Differences Among Countries

Niclas Berggren and Christian Bjørnskov also confirmed that Western countries are the most academically free, followed by Latin America. Former communist countries now rank third in academic freedom, with the Czech Republic among the freest within this group. By contrast, sub-Saharan African countries currently exhibit academic freedom levels similar to those of former communist countries in earlier decades. This demonstrates disparities across the world and within individual regions.