2003 News Releases

For immediate release:
October 15, 2003

Media contact:
James Hoard
Phone: (214) 922-5307
e-mail: james.hoard@dal.frb.org

Free To Choose: Dallas Fed Conference
to Honor Friedman Contributions,
Examine Role of Economic Freedom in New Century

The writings of Milton and Rose Friedman in Free to Choose educated the world about the benefits of economic freedom.

The Friedmans will join a group of distinguished speakers at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas to discuss the couple’s groundbreaking work and examine whether the same principles have a role in guiding 21st century policies.

“The Legacy of Milton and Rose Friedman’s Free to Choose: Economic Liberalism at the Turn of the 21st Century” will be Oct. 23-24 at the Dallas Fed. Participants can register to attend the conference at www.dallasfed.org.

Also addressing the event will be Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan (via video), Nobel Laureate Gary Becker, Federal Reserve Gov. Ben Bernanke, Mexican Finance Secretary Francisco Gil Diaz and other internationally recognized presenters.

“When I was a university student, a professor said that Milton Friedman was the fastest gun in the west. Nothing since has changed my view," said Bob McTeer, Dallas Fed president and chief executive officer. "As far as I am concerned, he is the most influential free market economist of the 20th century.

“As we honor the Friedmans for their contributions to economic freedom, we also want to look forward and consider whether the vision presented in Free to Choose can address current challenges facing the nation,” he said.

Speakers at the conference will discuss economic liberty and globalization, choice in education, environmental regulation, private property rights, tax reform, monetary frameworks for economic freedom and the power of financial markets.

The Friedmans in 1980 published Free to Choose in conjunction with a highly acclaimed PBS television series on economic liberty. The book presented a road map for governmental and economic reform that many believe influenced the path of the United States and other Western nations as well as emerging democracies around the world.

Milton Friedman won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1976 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1988.

Additional information about the conference and a list of confirmed speakers can be found on the Dallas Fed website: www.dallasfed.org.

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