Loading organizations...
Key people at National Bureau of Economic Research.
The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) is a private, non-profit entity that conducts and disseminates impartial economic research. It produces working papers, books, and periodicals, covering diverse economic subjects. A core capability involves maintaining the official chronology of US business cycles and providing extensive public data archives.
NBER was established in 1920 by Malcolm Rorty, an AT&T executive, and Nahum Stone, a labor organizer and economist. Their founding vision emerged from contentious Progressive-era discussions on income distribution, highlighting the critical need for objective, quantitative economic analysis to guide public policy. Wesley Clair Mitchell, its inaugural Director of Research, further cemented its empirical methodology.
The organization's research benefits policymakers, business leaders, and academic scholars who rely on its findings for informed decision-making and advancements in economic thought. NBER's enduring mission is to continue generating and widely sharing independent, high-caliber economic research, aiming to deepen understanding of economic forces and promote evidence-based policy for societal benefit.
Key people at National Bureau of Economic Research.
The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization founded in 1920, dedicated to conducting and disseminating unbiased economic research to academics, policymakers, and business professionals.[1][2][7] It supports over 1,750 affiliated economists organized into 20 research programs and 14 working groups, covering topics from business cycles and monetary policy to labor markets and innovation, while famously dating U.S. recessions through its Business Cycle Dating Committee.[3][4][5] With 44 Nobel laureates in Economics among its affiliates and leadership by President James Poterba, NBER produces over 1,200 working papers annually and hosts 120+ conferences, funded by grants, foundations, and subscriptions without issuing policy recommendations.[1][3][5]
Note that NBER is not a company or investment firm; it operates as a leading nonprofit think tank focused on rigorous, data-driven economic analysis rather than commercial or investment activities.[1][4][7]
NBER was founded in 1920 in New York City by engineers Malcolm Rorty and Nachum Stone amid Progressive-era debates on income distribution, aiming to address gaps in reliable economic data through objective research.[1][5] Early work centered on aggregate economy topics like business cycles and long-term growth, featuring pioneering contributions such as Simon Kuznets' national income accounting, Wesley Mitchell's business cycle studies, and Milton Friedman's analyses of money demand and consumer spending.[1][2] The organization evolved from these foundations, expanding its research agenda to broader societal issues while maintaining non-partisan status; by 2008, under President James Poterba (succeeding Martin Feldstein), it grew its affiliate network, programs, and output to over 1,200 studies yearly.[1][3][5] Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with a New York branch, it now employs 45 staff and governs via a board of university, business, and labor representatives.[1][3]
NBER influences the tech ecosystem indirectly through research programs like Productivity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship, which analyze tech-driven growth, venture capital dynamics, and AI's economic impacts, informing startup funding and policy.[4][5] It rides trends in data-intensive economics amid big data and AI advancements, with timely studies on innovation policy and market design shaping how tech firms navigate regulations and scale.[3][5] Market forces like rising demand for evidence-based insights favor NBER, as governments and investors rely on its recession dating and empirical work during cycles of tech booms and busts.[4][5] By convening economists and disseminating findings, NBER fosters ecosystem-wide progress, bridging academia, tech entrepreneurs, and policymakers on issues like labor automation and financial tech risks.[1][3]
NBER's influence will likely expand with growing economic complexity from AI, climate tech, and geopolitical shifts, amplifying its role in dissecting tech-enabled disruptions via new working groups and data tools.[3][5][7] Expect deeper dives into tech entrepreneurship and productivity amid post-pandemic recovery, potentially influencing venture trends and policy. As the gold standard for nonpartisan economic insight, NBER remains essential for navigating uncertainty—much like its foundational mission to ground debates in data, ensuring tech leaders and investors stay ahead of cycles it helped define.[1][5]
