Center for Economic and Policy Research

What Center for Economic and Policy Research does

The Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) is a Washington, DC-based 501(c)(3) non-profit think tank founded in 1999–2000 by economists Dean Baker and Mark Weisbrot. CEPR's core product is research publications — reports, articles, issue briefs, podcasts, and books — organized into recurring series such as Data Bytes, Dean Baker's Beat the Press, Sanctions Watch, Haiti Watch, Ecuador News Round-Up, Mark Weisbrot's Columns, and the BUYOUTS private equity series. The organization also maintains interactive data products, including a Debt and Climate Dashboard built on IMF and World Bank data, and live-updates coverage pages on regional policy developments.

The underlying technology is a standard web-based content management and distribution system supporting email newsletter infrastructure, podcast hosting, and multi-platform social media integration (X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Bluesky). CEPR distributes all content free of charge through cepr.net and via segmented email subscriptions, reaching policymakers, journalists, researchers, advocates, and the general public across the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East and Asia.

The business model is non-profit and donation- and grant-funded. CEPR generates no direct revenue from publications or data products; the operating model depends on foundation grants and individual donations. The organization is independently governed, with no parent company, private equity, or venture capital ownership, and is led by named co-directors and a communications function with separate domestic and international leads.

Name

Center for Economic and Policy Research

Legal name

Center for Economic and Policy Research

Website

https://cepr.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Center for Economic and Policy Research is a Washington, DC-based non-profit think tank founded in 1999 that produces freely accessible economic and policy research for policymakers, journalists, researchers, and the general public, with particular focus on Latin America, sanctions, and economic inequality.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Policy Research Services

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

akta.pro primary industry

Think Tanks, Policy Research & Public Policy Institutes (BPAGAFAO)

akta.pro secondary industry

Education Policy Research Institutes & Think Tanks (EDADADAA)

Keywords

• Economic policy research
• Think tank research
• Policy analysis reports
• Macroeconomic research
• Policy brief publications

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Foundation and Individual Donations: CEPR is a non-profit organization that relies on funding from foundations and individual donors to support its research operations and publications.
2. Publications and Reports: CEPR produces free research publications available on its website, reaching policymakers, media, and the public to influence economic policy debates.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) is a non-profit think tank that produces independent, fact-based, data-driven economic research and policy analysis. Its core offering consists of research publications including reports, articles, issue briefs, fact sheets, books, an interactive debt and climate dashboard, and curated content series covering economic and social policy issues such as sanctions, private equity, racial economic inequality, health care, Latin America, sovereign debt, and disability economic justice. All content is freely distributed through the CEPR website, email newsletters, podcasts, and media outreach to advance democratic debate on economic policy.

Product overview

The Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) is a policy research organization, not a technology company. Its 'products' are research publications and content series rather than software products. CEPR's offerings consist primarily of publications (reports, articles, books), data analysis products (Data Bytes, Debt and Climate Dashboard), and curated content series covering economic and policy topics. The organization does not offer a software platform, API, or technology product in the traditional sense.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Research Publications
• Books by CEPR Authors
• Debt and Climate Dashboard

Quantifiable outcome

• 564,000 excess deaths annually from unilateral economic sanctions according to CEPR economists' study published in The Lancet Global Health
• +2 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Joint Center for Political and Economic StudiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCEPR collaborated with the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies on a report titled 'The Best Black Economy in Generations – And Why It Isn't Enough', co-authored by Algernon Austin of CEPR and Dedrick Asante-Muhammad of the Joint Center. The report examined the African American economic condition and economic inequality.
• Various Academic and Research InstitutionsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCEPR works with academic researchers, economists, and policy experts from various institutions on co-authored publications and research projects, including contributors from universities and think tanks worldwide.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Roosevelt Institute: Progressive economic think tank producing research on monopoly power, labor markets, and inequality. Comparable progressive economic framing and target audience but with greater emphasis on long-form policy papers and academic partnerships than CEPR's rapid-response format.
• Demos: Progressive research and advocacy organization focused on economic justice, democracy, and racial equity. Overlaps with CEPR on inequality and labor research but skews more toward domestic US policy and movement-building rather than CEPR's Latin America focus.
• Levy Economics Institute: Bard College-based economic research institute focused on inequality, monetary policy, and heterodox economics. Comparable progressive economic framing and methodological approach to CEPR but with greater academic orientation and less media-focused distribution.

Broad incumbents

• Urban Institute: Large economic and social policy research organization producing data-driven analysis on inequality, health care, and housing—all overlapping CEPR focus areas. Comparable research credibility and methodological approach but operates with significantly larger staff and budget.
• RAND Corporation: Major nonpartisan research institution producing economic, security, and social policy analysis. Overlaps with CEPR on labor economics, health policy, and international affairs, but with broader mandate and much larger scale (1,800+ staff).
• National Bureau of Economic Research: Premier US economic research organization producing working papers and policy analyses across virtually all areas of economics. Overlaps with CEPR on labor, macroeconomics, and inequality but is primarily academic-facing rather than media-facing.
• Brookings Institution: One of the largest US policy research organizations covering economics, foreign policy, and governance with comparable distribution channels (reports, podcasts, social media). Operates at significantly greater scale and broader ideological positioning than CEPR.

Direct peers

• Institute for Policy Studies: Washington-based progressive think tank focused on economic justice, racial equity, and foreign policy—directly overlapping CEPR's focus areas including inequality, sanctions, and Latin America. Comparable funding model, scale, and audience profile.
• Economic Policy Institute: Direct peer and fellow Washington-based progressive economic think tank focused on wage growth, inequality, and labor economics. Highly comparable to CEPR in mission, audience (policymakers, journalists, labor advocates), and operating scale (~50+ staff).
• Center for American Progress: Large progressive policy institute covering economics, domestic, and foreign policy with similar target audiences and editorial positioning. Comparable in funding model (foundation-backed) and distribution channels (reports, op-eds, social media), but operates at materially larger scale than CEPR.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ceprdc
• Facebookfacebook.com/ceprDC
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/center-for-economic-and-policy-research
• Instagraminstagram.com/ceprdc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Center for Economic and Policy Research