December 12, 2014
In 1999, two economists with a big vision and “a total budget smaller than some other thinktanks’ entertainment funds” founded the Center for Economic and Policy Research. And for the past 15 years, CEPR has continued to serve as “a professional thorn in the side of orthodoxy”. That’s according to a 2008 editorial in the Guardiannewspaper titled “In praise of… the Center for Economic and Policy Research”, which also noted that “In a world of Goliaths, CEPR makes a rather effective David” (or Underdog, if you prefer).
All of us here at CEPR know that there is still a lot of work to be done to reverse growing economic inequality and to address the failed economic policies of the past, both here and abroad. But as we reflect on how far we’ve come since our humble beginnings in 1999, we thought we’d share with you some of our greatest accomplishments – accomplishments that we could never have achieved without the support of individuals like you. Here are just a few:
- We predicted the collapse of the housing bubble and the economic crisis that followed
- We helped block the privatization of Social Security by exposing the hype of the “phony crisis“
- We were the first economic think tank to call attention to the long-term growth failure of the neoliberal era in Latin America
- We punctured the myth that private equity makes money by expanding the economic pie
- We co-authored a report that sparked a debate on U.S. drug policy in Honduras and beyond
These are just a few of the successes that CEPR has achieved over the past 15 years – all on a budget that remains smaller than all the other major think tanks here in DC. In fact, CEPR consistently ranks number one in media hits and web traffic per budget dollar (another accomplishment in which we take great pride.)
