Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel

Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel
Name	Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel
Founded	1982
Founder	Morris Taub
Headquarters	Jerusalem
Fields	Social policy, Economic research, Public policy

Contents

Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel is an independent research institute based in Jerusalem that conducts empirical analysis on Israeli society, welfare state, labor markets, and public finance. The Center produces data-driven reports, policy briefs, and academic papers intended for policymakers, Knesset members, media, and civil society organizations such as Histadrut, Israel Democracy Institute, and Taub Family Foundation. It collaborates with international organizations, academic institutions, and think tanks including OECD, World Bank, Brookings Institution, RAND Corporation, and United Nations bodies.

History and Founding

The Center was established in the early 1980s amid debates involving figures like Shimon Peres, Menachem Begin, Yitzhak Rabin, and institutions including Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv University. Its founding coincided with major developments such as the 1982 Lebanon War, the First Intifada, and the onset of market liberalization influenced by policy shifts like the 1985 economic stabilization plan. Early trustees and supporters included philanthropists and public intellectuals associated with organizations such as Jewish Agency for Israel and United Israel Appeal. Over time the Center adapted its agenda in response to events like the Oslo Accords and the global financial dynamics shaped by International Monetary Fund interventions and European Union economic trends.

The Center’s stated mission aligns with objectives found in comparative institutions like Pew Research Center, Heritage Foundation, and Centre for Economic Policy Research: to produce rigorous, nonpartisan analysis relevant to legislative debates in the Knesset, municipal councils, and judicial review processes in the Supreme Court of Israel. It aims to inform stakeholders including political parties such as Likud, Israeli Labor Party, Yesh Atid, and advocacy groups like Amnesty International and B’Tselem about issues tied to social insurance programs administered by agencies like Bituach Leumi and fiscal authorities such as the Israeli Ministry of Finance.

Research topics parallel those addressed by centers like Urban Institute and Institute for Fiscal Studies: analyses of income distribution, poverty measurements, labor-force participation, taxation, education outcomes, healthcare financing, and demographic projections concerning groups including Haredi Judaism, Arab citizens of Israel, Ethiopian Jews, and immigrants from the Former Soviet Union. Major annual outputs include national reports on income mobility comparable to publications from OECD and thematic studies similar to work by World Bank researchers. The Center publishes monographs, working papers, and policy briefs cited in academic journals such as Journal of Public Economics, Economica, and Demography, and referenced by universities including Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Bar-Ilan University.

The governance model resembles boards used by institutions like Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and American Enterprise Institute, with an executive team, research directors, and a board of governors composed of academics, former ministers, and private-sector leaders including alumni of Bank Leumi and Israel Electric Corporation. Past and present directors have connections to scholars trained at Harvard University, London School of Economics, Columbia University, and University of Chicago. The Center engages adjunct researchers affiliated with think tanks such as Brookings Institution and academic centers like Taubman Center for State and Local Government (distinct entity).

Funding sources include private foundations similar to Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and family foundations, philanthropic donors linked to networks like Jewish Federations of North America, and project grants from multilateral organizations such as European Research Council and bilateral funders including USAID. Partnerships extend to academic collaborations with Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv University, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, and policy exchanges with international bodies including OECD and United Nations Development Programme.

The Center’s analyses have informed debates on legislation affecting taxation, social security reforms, and education policy debated in the Knesset Finance Committee and cited in hearings before officials from the Ministry of Health (Israel) and the Ministry of Education (Israel). Its work has been referenced by media outlets such as Haaretz, The Jerusalem Post, and Yedioth Ahronoth, and by commentators from institutions like Israel Democracy Institute and Mossawa Center. Internationally, its comparative studies contribute to discussions at forums including World Economic Forum and UNICEF conferences. The Center’s data tools and visualizations have been used by NGOs such as Leket Israel and advocacy coalitions including National Council for the Advancement of Arab Citizens (example), shaping program design and budget allocations.