Economic Freedom Initiative
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Center for International Finance and Global Competitiveness

This new Center in Auburn's College of Business will support research, instruction and outreach activities relevant to international financial markets and global competitiveness. One major program within the Center is the Economic Freedom Initiative which supports of the Economic Freedom of the World index, an annual assessment and ranking of over 140 countries with respect to their degree of economic freedom.
Co-Directors
James Barth is Lowder Eminent Scholar in Finance and Senior Finance Fellow at the Milken Institute. His research has focused on financial institutions and capital markets, both domestic and global, with special emphasis on regulatory issues.
Robert Lawson is Associate Professor of Finance and the co-author of the widely-cited Economic Freedom of the World annual report which provides an economic freedom index for over 140 countries. Lawson directs the Economic Freedom Initiative within the Center.
Oversight Board
John Jahera, Chairman and Colonial Bank Distinguished Professor, Department of Finance.
James Barth, Co-Director of the Center and Lowder Eminent Scholar in Finance.
Daniel Gropper, Associate Dean and MBA Director, College of Business.
Global Advisory Board
John Blundell (United Kingdom)
Director General & Ralph Harris Fellow, Institute of Economic Affairs
Donald Boudreaux (United States)
Professor of Economics & Department Chairman, George Mason University
Simeon Djankov (Bulgaria)
Chief Economist & Finance and Private Sector Development Vice Presidency, World Bank
Gerald P. Dwyer, Jr. (USA)
Vice President & Director of the Finance Research Group, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
Pierre Garello (France)
Professor of Economics, Paul Cézanne University Aix-Marseille III Director, Institute of Economic Studies Europe
Irene Mia (Switzerland)
Director & Senior Economist, Global Competitiveness Network, World Economic Forum
Fred McMahon (Canada)
Director, Centre for Globalization Studies, The Fraser Institute
Benjamin Powell (USA)
Assistant Professor of Economics, Suffolk University Senior Economist, The Beacon Hill Institute
Paata Sheshelidze (Georgia)
President, New Economic School Georgia
Ian Vásquez (USA)
director, Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, The Cato Institute
Parth Shah (India)
President, Centre for Civil Society