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Outlet profile

Center for Economic and Policy Research (Opinion)

U.S. left-center / progressive

Owned byIndependent nonprofit 501(c)(3); no single owner. Co-founded by economists Dean Baker and Mark Weisbrot, who have served as co-directors.
FundingApproximately 80% foundation grants; remainder from individual donations. Key funders have included the Ford Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, Omidyar Network, Foundation to Promote Open Society, Arnold Foundation, Annie E. Casey Foundation, Amalgamated Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and the Communications Workers of America. Annual operating budget around $5.8 million (2024).
On the administrationbroadly critical

Background

CEPR was founded in 1999 by economists Dean Baker and Mark Weisbrot with a starting budget of under $120,000. It grew into a prominent Washington think tank focused on challenging what it sees as conventional economic orthodoxy, particularly on trade, labor markets, and social insurance. Baker gained wide recognition for identifying the U.S. housing bubble before the 2007–08 financial crisis. The organization has long been critical of international financial institutions such as the IMF, and has opposed certain free-trade agreements on distributional grounds. CEPR draws heavily on grants from progressive and liberal foundations, and has had notable contributors including Nobel Prize-winning economists Joseph Stiglitz and Robert Solow. Its media presence includes commentary published across left-leaning outlets and its own blog and reports. During the Trump administration's second term beginning in 2025, CEPR published a major eBook assembling more than 50 experts to assess the economic consequences of administration policies — tariffs, deregulation, assertions of presidential authority, and government downsizing — concluding these trends were 'cause for concern' and raising the probability of a 2025 recession. The organization's perspective is left-of-center: it supports government intervention in markets, labor rights, and redistribution, and critiques market-oriented policy prescriptions.

Sources

  1. Center for Economic and Policy Research — Wikipedia
  2. About – CEPR
  3. Our Funders – CEPR
  4. The Center for Economic and Policy Research – Media Bias/Fact Check
  5. The Economic Consequences of the Second Trump Administration – CEPR
  6. CEPR Through the Years – CEPR

Profile compiled 2026-08-05; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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