 us economic freedom declines in 1776 adam smith theorized that when institutions protect the liberty of individuals greater prosperity results for all for over a decade the heritage foundation and the wall street journal have tracked the march of economic freedom around the world with the index of economic freedom the index for 2012 was released today the press release that discusses the 2012 findings can be found at  wwwheritageorg index pressreleaseoverview for more information about the the concept of economic freedom and what it means to the united states and other countries around the world see  wwwheritageorg index   economic freedom declines  