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As with previous editions of Economic Freedom of the World, we owe a debt to many people. Without the assistance and guidance of both Mike Walker and Milton Friedman, this project would never have gotten off of the ground. Mike organized the Fraser Institute/Liberty Fund conference series that provided the foundation for our measure of economic freedom. He also edited several of the conference volumes and provided both input and encouragement throughout. Milton Friedman's criticisms and suggested modifications shaped the research design of the project.

The institutes of the Economic Freedom Network again provided invaluable support for this report. They helped verify information and supplied us with missing data. Their use of the index in their respective countries has been nothing short of astounding. We have all the respect in the world for these freedom fighters operating in sometimes hostile environments.

Kathy Makinen at the DeVoe L. Moore Center of Florida State University assisted with data gathering and calculations. Fred McMahon and Chris Schlegel at The Fraser Institute did an excellent job of co-ordinating the data management and publication of the book. We are sorry for the loss of Dexter Samida, who has left The Fraser Institute and is currently studying in South Korea. Dexter's tireless work to convert the index to a database system paid huge dividends by saving us literally dozens of hours of labor. We wish him all the luck in his future endeavors.

James Gwartney

Robert Lawson

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