James M. Roberts is the Research Fellow in Freedom and Growth at the Heritage Foundation’s Center for International Trade and Economics. He is also editor of the Index of Economic Freedom, published by the Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal. Previously, he served in the U.S. State Department as a foreign service officer and coordinated various U.S. assistance programs, including efforts to reform Eastern European economies and the reconstruction of Iraq. Roberts also served in the U.S. Navy Reserve and worked for Ford Motor Company. Roberts holds a master’s degree in international and development economics from Yale University, a MBA from the University of Pittsburgh, and a bachelor’s degree in international affairs from Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania.