The New Economic Freedom

Citation: Benjamin M Chen, Robert D. Cooter (2015) The New Economic Freedom. Supreme Court Economic Review (RSS)
Internet Archive Scholar (search for fulltext): The New Economic Freedom
Download: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2720602
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Summary

Compound growth swamps static efficiency and allocation in a short time, innovation more important than human and physical capital for compound growth.

Creativity and productivity were substitutes in industrial economy (because productivity required rote repetition), but complements in technology economy (because productivity requires creativity).

Creativity widely believed to be core to good life.

Creativity requires traditions; if benefit to creator dissipates too quickly, "some of the epistemic quality of the competitive process is lost."

Argues a "new economic freedom" (never expressly defined), but seeming to include both negative (independence from external control) and positive (adequate material provision, satisfactory options) and focused on spurring innovation is a "human right", whose implementation "can be cultural, aspirational, or justiciable, depending on legal history."

The aim of policy should be to maximize the rate of innovation, balancing innovator or employer control and user or employee freedom to this end, taking examples of intellectual property and employment contract enforceability respectively.

Theoretical and Practical Relevance

Public research funding is not mentioned.