Centre for Economic Policy Research

Centre for Economic Policy Research
source
Name	Centre for Economic Policy Research
Type	Research network
Founded	1983
Founder	Richard Portes
Headquarters	London
Location	London, United Kingdom
Region served	Europe, global
Fields	Economic research

Contents

Centre for Economic Policy Research is a networked European research institute founded in 1983 that connects economists across United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Netherlands and other countries to produce policy-relevant analysis. It collaborates with institutions such as the European Commission, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Bank of England and national ministries of finance while maintaining ties with universities like London School of Economics, University of Oxford, Harvard University, Princeton University and University of Chicago. The organization publishes working papers, policy briefs and books that engage debates in forums including the European Parliament, G7 summit, G20 summit, International Labour Organization and media outlets such as Financial Times, The Economist, BBC and The New York Times.

History

Founded in 1983 by a group of academics led by Richard Portes with links to London Business School, University College London, Cambridge University and Oxford University, the institute emerged amid policy debates involving the European Union, European Monetary System, Maastricht Treaty and post‑1970s macroeconomic reform. Early activities connected scholars associated with Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences laureates and departments at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Columbia University and Yale University, bringing together researchers focused on topics addressed at the Bretton Woods Conference legacy and in responses to the oil crises and stagflation of the 1970s. Through the 1990s and 2000s the network expanded its membership and partnerships with organizations including the Centre for European Policy Studies, Bruegel, Institute for Fiscal Studies, Brookings Institution and National Bureau of Economic Research, adapting to policy challenges such as the European sovereign debt crisis, financial crisis of 2007–2008 and debates over the Eurozone architecture.

The institute is structured as a pan‑European research network with an elected board, executive directors and advisory councils drawn from academics affiliated with institutions like University of Cambridge, London School of Economics and Political Science, Stockholm School of Economics, Bocconi University, Sciences Po and Freie Universität Berlin. Governance practices reference procedures familiar to entities such as the Royal Economic Society, American Economic Association, European Central Bank consultative groups and academic publishers like Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press. Committees oversee peer review, events and publication series while liaising with donors such as Wellcome Trust, European Investment Bank, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and philanthropic arms of banks like Goldman Sachs and HSBC. The institute’s secretariat operates from offices in London and coordinates with hubs in cities including Paris, Berlin, Madrid and Rome.

Research programs span macroeconomics, labor markets, trade, public finance, health economics and climate policy, engaging scholars from University of California, Berkeley, Stanford University, University of Michigan, University of Toronto and McGill University. Publication outlets include a working paper series, policy portals and edited volumes produced in collaboration with publishers such as Routledge, Springer, Cambridge University Press and Oxford University Press. Papers feed into citation networks of journals like American Economic Review, Quarterly Journal of Economics, Journal of Political Economy, Econometrica and Journal of Economic Literature and inform datasets curated alongside institutions such as EUROSTAT, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and International Labour Organization. The institute sponsors collaborative projects on topics raised at conferences such as the World Economic Forum annual meeting, panels at the Royal Economic Society Annual Conference and symposia connected to the European Commission Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs.

Through briefings, testimony and commissioned reports the network has informed deliberations at the European Parliament Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, House of Commons Treasury Committee, Bundestag committees, central banks including the European Central Bank and the Bank of England, and multilateral negotiations at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group. Influence is visible in debates over fiscal rules tied to the Stability and Growth Pact, monetary policy discourse referencing inflation targeting debates, labor market reforms discussed alongside the Lisbon Strategy and regulatory responses after the global financial crisis of 2008–2009. Its work has been cited in policy papers from the European Commission, judicial opinions in European Court of Justice contexts, and in reports by think tanks such as Chatham House and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

The institute organizes conferences, workshops and seminars that bring together fellows and visiting scholars from Princeton University, Yale University, Columbia University, New York University, Imperial College London and HEC Paris, as well as policymakers from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and United Nations agencies. Its events include policy panels co‑hosted with Bruegel, the Institute for Fiscal Studies, Royal Society and international gatherings at venues such as European Parliament buildings, the Council of the European Union meeting rooms and academic departments across Europe. Training programs and executive courses target officials from national treasuries, central bank staff and NGO personnel associated with OECD Development Centre, UNDP and ILO.

Funding derives from a mix of membership fees, grants, commissioned research and partnerships with foundations and international organizations including the European Commission, NATO science programs, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Ford Foundation, and financial sponsorship from banks and consultancies such as Goldman Sachs, McKinsey & Company and PwC. Collaborative research projects often run with academic partners like University of Oxford, London School of Economics, Bocconi University and policy centers such as Centre for European Reform and German Institute for Economic Research.

Fellows and directors have included prominent economists affiliated with institutions such as London Business School, University of Chicago, University of Cambridge, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton University, Stanford University and recipients of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. Leadership has worked closely with policymakers from central banks including the Bank of England and European Central Bank, finance ministries of France, Germany and Italy, and international officials from the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

Category:Research institutes