[jacques_chester]

Economists generally don't use the term "free markets". They describe different kinds of market: purely competitive, purely monopolistic, monopolistic-competitive and oligopolistic. Each of these markets show different quite characteristics, even though each is "free" insofar as the participants make their own decisions as they see fit.

In theory the perfectly competitive market is most effective at maximising net utility for all participants. But in general, very few markets are close to that end of the spectrum. Most fall somewhere in the other categories.

[wtfrmyinitials]

Purely competitive, purely monopolistic, monopolistic-competitive, and oligopolistic are terms to describe how a market behaves, not the regulatory environment the market exists within. A "free market" is a regulatory environment and not a market behavior.

[SantalBlush]

Economists still typically don't use the term "free market," because it's loaded and often inaccurate.

"Unregulated" would be preferable, I think.

[jacques_chester]

That's pretty much my point, yes.