Integrity, Research, and Principle in the Study of Markets Since 1933
Who We Are
Founded in 1933, the American Institute for Economic Research (AIER) is one of the oldest and most respected nonpartisan economic research and advocacy organizations in the country. With a global reach and influence, AIER is dedicated to developing and promoting the ideas of pure freedom and private governance by combining advanced economic research with accessible media outreach and educational programming to cultivate a better, broader understanding of the fundamental principles that enable peace and prosperity around the world.
Our Mission
American Institute for Economic Research educates people on the value of personal freedom, free enterprise, property rights, limited government and sound money. AIER’s ongoing scientific research demonstrates the importance of these principles in advancing peace, prosperity and human progress.
AIER is a nonpartisan research and education nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization focused on the importance of markets, with a full range of programs and publications on the social sciences with a primary emphasis on economics. AIER as an institution affirms free enterprise, economic liberty, property rights, sound money, and legal institutions that shore up the rights of individuals to be free to the extent that their actions do not impinge on the rights of others.
Our Vision
AIER envisions a world in which societies are organized according to the principles of pure freedom—in which the role of government is sharply confined to the provision of public goods and individuals can flourish within a truly free market and a free society.
In pursuit of this vision, AIER utilizes careful and comprehensive research to better understand the economic principles that have led to a spectacular increase in prosperity and to effectively transmit that greater understanding to policymakers, educators, and the general public through thoughtfully crafted and widely disseminated publications and targeted, practical and accessible education programs.
Why We Exist
The fundamental ideas of personal freedom, free markets, private property, sound money, and private governance, have led to a level of prosperity in the US and around the world that is without precedent in human history. Yet the ideologies of socialism and centralization are alive and well today. Markets are routinely villainized in the media, schools, and politics.
Cutting through the noise of partisan shouting matches, AIER relies on objective, scientific research to show how these principles and their implementation lead to sustained economic prosperity and human flourishing. By educating policymakers, educators, and the general public in these truths, we are striving toward a world where all people enjoy the benefits of a truly free society.
What We Do
AIER conducts advanced economic research and then leverages this work to reach the broader public through accessible educational programming. We advocate for personal freedom, free markets, private property, limited government, and sound money. Our strategy centers around three core activities:
Research
AIER sponsors the work of leading economists and academics as Senior Fellows and Research Fellows. These experts are able to draw on the Library of American Finance—housed at AIER’s headquarters—and collectively produce hundreds of economic reports, scholarly papers, mainstream articles, and published books every year.
AIER Fellows likewise contribute to the following projects: Business Conditions Monthly, the Harwood Economic Review, the Sound Money Project, the Everyday Price Index, and the Journal of Private Enterprise.
Collectively these publications have thousands of citations and hundreds of thousands of subscribers, and are regularly quoted in the pages of the Wall Street Journal and Investors Business Daily. The research arm of AIER is an invaluable resource not just for economists, but also for industry professionals and policymakers alike
Train
We run in-person seminars for high school teachers, internships for young students, colloquia for graduate students, and a visiting scholars program for academics.
- Teach the Teachers is a series of in-person seminars for high school teachers led by leading scholars and researchers aimed at helping them implement curricula to improve the economic literacy of their students.
- AIER internships for young students to work closely with staff on research projects and our educational outreach.
- Colloquia for graduate students studying markets and governance;
- Visiting Scholars Program for academics at every level who work in economics, political science, philosophy, history, or law.
- Regional conferences for individuals from all walks of life who are interested in learning more about the principles of pure freedom and private governance.
Communicate
In addition to advancing the study of the economic principles that underwrite human prosperity and progress, AIER communicates these ideas to the general public by presenting them in attractive, accessible, and digestible forms. This aspect of our work focuses on:
- Online outreach through highly shareable videos, social media posts, eBooks, podcasts, and original articles.
- Mass media outreach, including AIER staff appearing on television on a weekly basis around the world, including CNN, Fox Business, and Yahoo Finance. AIER researchers and staff are also regulars with popular podcasts radio shows, magazines, and newspapers.
- AIER’s Bastiat Society, which hosts over 200 events annually in 26 countries around the world.
Join Us
Securing our personal and economic freedom is only possible through the support of our dedicated supporters. If we do not treasure and disseminate these foundational principles of human flourishing, we risk losing them, perhaps forever.
By supporting AIER, you not only help advance research concerning the principles of economic freedom; you also help communicate those principles to an audience both influential and broad. The ideas of pure freedom and private governance hold the key to a bright future for the whole world. By supporting AIER you bring that future closer to reality.
