Center for Economic and Policy Research

Center for Economic and Policy Research is a Washington, D.C.-based think tank founded in 1999 by Mark Weisbrot and Dean Baker. It conducts policy analysis on international trade and domestic fiscal policy while engaging with media outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, and BBC News. The organization frequently appears in discussions alongside institutions like Brookings Institution, Heritage Foundation, American Enterprise Institute, Urban Institute, and Economic Policy Institute.

History

Founded in 1999 by Mark Weisbrot and Dean Baker, the institute emerged during policy debates involving the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization. Early work addressed crises such as the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the Argentine economic crisis, and the implementation of NAFTA-era policies while interacting with scholars from London School of Economics, Harvard University, Princeton University, Columbia University, and University of Chicago. The organization published analyses on episodes including the Global Financial Crisis (2007–2008), the Greek government-debt crisis, and sanctions regimes affecting Cuba, drawing scrutiny from analysts at Peterson Institute for International Economics, Cato Institute, and Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Mission and Activities

The institute states a mission centered on advancing progressive policy discussions relevant to U.S. Congress deliberations, United Nations debates, and regional forums such as the Organization of American States and European Union institutions. Activities include briefings for staffers on the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, testimony before committees like the Senate Budget Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee, and collaborations with civil society groups such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, ACLU, Oxfam, and Transparency International. It conducts workshops with academics from Yale University, George Washington University, Johns Hopkins University, and policy analysts at International Monetary Fund and Inter-American Development Bank.

Research and Publications

Researchers produce working papers, policy briefs, and books addressing topics including unemployment, income inequality, minimum wage laws, and tax policy with comparative studies referencing United Kingdom, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, and Spain. Publications have been cited alongside reports from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, World Bank, International Labour Organization, Statistics Canada, and Eurostat. Notable outputs include critiques of austerity measures during the European sovereign debt crisis, analyses of U.S. trade deficits relevant to debates over Trans-Pacific Partnership, and assessments of sanctions on Cuba and Venezuela. Authors have included scholars formerly affiliated with Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley, New York University, and University of Michigan; the work is frequently discussed in outlets such as The Economist, Financial Times, Reuters, Bloomberg, and Al Jazeera.

Funding and Organization

The institute operates as a nonprofit entity with financial support reported to come from foundations and philanthropic sources including Open Society Foundations, Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Carnegie Corporation, and family foundations comparable to those backing Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and Pew Charitable Trusts. Its governance includes a board with members connected to institutions like American University, University of Pennsylvania, Georgetown University, New School, and Johns Hopkins University. Staff and fellows have included economists who previously worked at Federal Reserve Board, Treasury Department (United States), International Monetary Fund, World Bank Group, and regional development banks such as the Inter-American Development Bank.

Reception and Criticism

The institute’s work has been praised by commentators at The Nation, Mother Jones, Jacobin, Dissent (magazine), and progressive academics at University of Massachusetts Amherst for its critiques of neoliberal policies and its analyses of Latin American macroeconomic episodes. It has faced criticism from scholars and commentators at National Review, Wall Street Journal, Fox News, and think tanks like Heritage Foundation and Cato Institute over perceived ideological bias, methodology in estimating job impacts, and positions on sanctions involving Cuba and Venezuela. Debates have invoked comparators such as Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences laureates affiliated with MIT, University of Chicago, and Princeton University, and have referenced controversies around studies conducted during the 2008 financial crisis and the 2010s European debt crisis.

Category:Think tanks based in the United States