NBER

NBER
Name	National Bureau of Economic Research
Formation	1920
Headquarters	Cambridge, Massachusetts
Leader title	President and Chief Executive Officer
Leader name	James M. Poterba
Website	nber.org

NBER

The National Bureau of Economic Research is an American private nonprofit research organization devoted to applied economics. It convenes scholars, sponsors research, and disseminates analysis on Great Depression, Business cycle, Labor market fluctuations, Income inequality, and Health economics. The organization links academic economists, policymakers, and institutions such as Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton University, University of Chicago, and Yale University.

History

Founded in 1920, the organization emerged amid debates over post‑World War I reconstruction, public finance and industrial organization with founders connected to National Industrial Conference Board, Rockefeller Foundation, and Harvard University. Early scholars addressed topics raised by the Federal Reserve System and the aftermath of the Panic of 1920–21; subsequent work intersected with policy responses to the Great Depression and wartime mobilization linked to World War II. In the postwar era the institution expanded programs on fiscal policy, tax incidence, and social insurance influenced by scholars associated with John Maynard Keynes, Milton Friedman, Paul Samuelson, and Simon Kuznets. Across the late 20th century it became central to debates involving the Tax Reform Act of 1986, the Social Security Amendments of 1983, and research on stagflation and supply-side economics.

Organization and Funding

Structured as a private nonprofit research network, governance includes a board with affiliates drawn from Columbia University, Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley, Northwestern University, and Duke University. Funding mixes grants and contracts from foundations such as the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and government agencies including the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the Department of Health and Human Services. Corporate research sponsorships and gifts come from financial institutions and philanthropic donors linked to Carnegie Corporation of New York and Russell Sage Foundation. The institution administers fellowship programs, grants, and salaried research positions held by professors from Cornell University, Brown University, Vanderbilt University, University of Michigan, and University of Pennsylvania.

Research Activities and Programs

Research is organized into programs that convene specialists on topics such as Monetary policy, Fiscal policy, Labor economics, Public economics, Health economics, Energy economics, International trade, Development economics, Education economics, and Urban economics. Working groups and conferences have examined crises like the Great Recession and events such as the 2008 financial crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Eurozone crisis. Collaborative projects have drawn on datasets maintained with partners at Internal Revenue Service, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census Bureau, and international bodies like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Methodological initiatives emphasize randomized controlled trials influenced by scholars associated with Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo, and Angus Deaton as well as structural modeling linked to work by Robert E. Lucas Jr., Thomas J. Sargent, and Christopher A. Sims.

Publications and Working Papers

A signature output is an ongoing series of working papers authored by affiliates from University of California, Los Angeles, London School of Economics, University of Oxford, Princeton University, and Yale University. The working paper series has featured influential studies on minimum wage effects, taxation incidence, health insurance expansions, and human capital formation linked to scholars such as Gary Becker, James Heckman, Joseph Stiglitz, and Eugene F. Fama. Peer‑reviewed books and edited volumes derive from conference proceedings; many papers later appear in journals including American Economic Review, Quarterly Journal of Economics, Journal of Political Economy, Econometrica, and Journal of Public Economics.

Policy Influence and Public Impact

Research produced by affiliates has informed debates before legislative bodies such as the United States Congress, executive agencies including the Treasury Department, and central banks like the Federal Reserve Board. Analyses contributed to policymaking on unemployment insurance reform, tax policy redesign, health care reform, minimum wage legislation, and antitrust enforcement. Public dissemination includes media engagement with outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Financial Times, and broadcast interviews on National Public Radio. The organization’s determinations on business cycle dating have been widely cited by academics, financial markets, and policymakers during episodes such as the 2001 recession and the Great Recession.

Notable Economists and Collaborations

Affiliates and research associates have included Nobel laureates and leading scholars from institutions like Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, University of Chicago, Princeton University, Columbia University, Stanford University, Yale University, University of California, Berkeley, London School of Economics, University of Oxford, University of Pennsylvania, Northwestern University, Brown University, Duke University, Cornell University, University of Michigan, University of California, Los Angeles, New York University, Texas A&M University, University of Toronto, University of Cambridge, University College London, Stockholm School of Economics, Bell Labs, RAND Corporation, and Hoover Institution. Collaborations have involved interdisciplinary work with scholars from Harvard School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Columbia Business School, Wharton School, and policy centers such as Brookings Institution, American Enterprise Institute, Urban Institute, and Peterson Institute for International Economics.

Category:Economic research institutes