Major U.S. Think Tanks: American Enterprise Institute

Formed in 1943 as a traditional think tank, after being criticized of being too centrist, the American Enterprise Institute moved right and took a more aggressive public-policy role in domestic and foreign policy affairs. The American Enterprise Institute is dedicated to "preserving and strengthening the foundations of freedom" - limited government, private enterprise, vital cultural and political institutions, and a strong foreign policy and national defense.

Official Organizational Status: Independent institute

Political Orientation:
U.S. Conservative

Scope/Research Areas: The American Enterprise Institutes research is conducted in three broad areas, namely economic policy studies, social and political studies and foreign and defense policy studies. Issues of priority are: Tax reform, Social Security and entitlements reform, environmental regulation, economic deregulation, culture and society, religion, intellectual foundations, reform of the U.S. defense structure and redefinition of American foreign policy. Some recent titles include: Income Inequality and IQ. (1998). Ethics of Human Cloning (1998). Calomiris, C. and J. Karceski: Is the Bank Merger Wave of the 1990s Efficient? Lessons from Nine Case Studies. (1998).

Funding Sources: 1998 Budget: US$ 14.3 million. Assets: US$ 24.5 million. Corporate donations (29 %), private donations (27 %), foundations (26 %), conferences, sales, and other revenues (18 %).

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Major U.S. Think Tanks: Brookings Institute

The Brookings Institute, based in Washington DC traces its beginnings to 1916 with the founding of the Institute for Government Research, the first private organization devoted to public policy issues at a national level. In 1922 and 1924 , the Institute was joined by the Institute of Economics and the Robert Brookings Graduate School. In 1927 these three groups were consolidated into one institution, named after the businessman Robert Somers Brookings.

After World War II, the Brookings Institute fostered Republican support for the Marshall Plan, which the Institute helped to develop. By the 1960s, Brookings was linked to the establishment wing of the Democratic Party, backing Keynesian economics. The Institutes influence on the operations of the federal government, at times, has been substantial. In the 1920s, Brookings was largely responsible for the creation of the federal budget. In the 1970s the Brookings Institute pushed for the creation of the Congressional Budget Office, and then provided its first head, former senior fellow Alice Rivlin.

Official Organizational Status: Private, independent, non-profit Research Institute

Political Orientation: U.S. Centrist

Scope/Research Areas: The Brookings Institute seeks to "improve the performance of American institutions, the effectiveness of government programs, and the quality of U.S. public policies". Its research areas include political economy of market transitions, antitrust, banking, government reform, social norms and economic behavior, national security, budget politics and public administration. Some recent titles include: Eisinger, Peter: Toward an End to Hunger in America. (1998). Hess, Stephen: The Little Book of Campaign Etiquette. (1998). Jencks, C. and M. Phillips (eds.): The Black-White Test Score Gap. (1998). Douglas, A. R. et.al.: Framing the Social Security Debate. Values, Politics, and Economics. (1998).

Funding Sources: 1998 Budget: US$ 23 million. Assets: US$ 192 million. Corporate and private donations (38 %), endowment (30 %), revenue from conferences and seminars (18 %), sales of publications (9 %), government support (2 %).

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