Study: Texas fourth freest state in U.S. economically

Texas is the fourth most "economically free" state in the U.S., according to the a new study.

New Hampshire is the freest, according to the Fraser Institute study. It received a rating of 7.83, followed closely by Tennessee at 7.82, Florida at 7.78, Texas at 7.75 and Virginia at 7.59, according to the Fraser Institute.

New York was the least free at 4.33, following California at 4.68, Vermont at 4.86, West Virginia at 5.00 and New Mexico at 5.01, the study found.

Average economic freedom peaked in the U.S, Mexico and Canada in 2004, decreasing until 2011, the study said. Since then, it has increased slowly in the U.S. and Mexico but fallen back to the 2013 levels in Canada, Fraser said.

The study measures laws and policies that "were supportive of economic freedom, the ability of individuals to act in the economic sphere free of undue restrictions," it said.

States with more economic freedom had greater economic growth, Fraser said.

"The results of the experiments of the 20th century should now be clear: Free economies produce the greatest prosperity in human history for their citizens," the study concluded. "Even poverty in these economically free nations would have been considered luxury in unfree economies."

A study by the Cato Institute that considered more than just economic data ranked Texas 21st out of 50 states in overall freedom. However, it noted that Texas ranks in the top 10 in economic freedom.