Harvard economist Andrei Shleifer has a new paper on The Age Of
Milton Friedman that begins with: The last quarter century has
witnessed remarkable progress of mankind. The world’s per capita
inflation-adjusted income rose from $5400 in 1980 to $8500 in
2005.Schooling and life expectancy grew rapidly, while infant
mortality and poverty fell just asfast. Compared to 1980, many
more countries in the world are democratic today. The last
quarter century also saw wide acceptance of free market policies
in both rich and poor countries: from private ownership, to free
trade, to responsible budgets, to lower taxes. Three important
events mark the beginning of this period. In 1979, Deng Xiao
Ping started market reforms in China, which over the quarter
century lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. In
the same year, Margaret Thatcher was elected Prime Minister in
Britain, and initiated her radical reforms and a long period of
growth. A year later, Ronald Reagan was elected President of the
United States,