American Institute for Economic Research

The American Institute for Economic Research (AIER) is a free-market think tank[4] located in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1933 by Edward C. Harwood, an economist and investment advisor. It is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.[5]

American Institute for
Economic Research

AIER's Historic Cotswold Cottage
AbbreviationAIER
Formation1933 (1933)
FounderEdward C. Harwood
Type501(c)(3) non-profit think tank
04-2121305
Purpose"Conducts independent, scientific, economic research to educate individuals, thereby advancing their personal interests and those of the nation."[1]
Location
President
Edward Stringham[2]
Revenue (2019)
$2,222,727[3]
Expenses (2019)$5,129,945[3]
Websitewww.aier.org

History

Col. Edward C. Harwood was a graduate of the United States Military Academy and served in the Army Corps of Engineers. In the 1920s he began writing freelance magazine articles on economic issues.[6] With $200 saved from selling his articles, Harwood founded AIER in 1933.[6][5]

The current president of the institute is Edward Stringham, an Austrian School economist and a professor of economics at Trinity College in Connecticut.[7]

Policy positions

AIER statements and publications portray the risks of climate change as minor and manageable,[8] with titles such as "What Greta Thunberg Forgets About Climate Change", "The Real Reason Nobody Takes Environmental Activists Seriously" and "Brazilians Should Keep Slashing Their Rainforest".[9][10]

The institution has also funded research on the comparative benefits that sweatshops supplying multinationals bring to the people working in them.[11][12]

COVID-19

AIER issued a statement in October 2020 called the "Great Barrington Declaration" that argued for a herd immunity strategy to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.[13] It was roundly condemned by public health experts.[13][14] Anthony Fauci, the White House's top infectious disease expert, called the declaration "total nonsense" and unscientific.[13] Tyler Cowen, a libertarian economist at George Mason University, wrote that while he sympathizes with a libertarian approach to deal with the pandemic, the declaration was dangerous and misguided.[15] The declaration was also criticized by the Niskanen Center,[16] a formerly libertarian think tank[17] that now calls itself moderate.[18]

AIER paid for ads on Facebook promoting its articles against government social distancing measures and mask mandates.[19]

In October 2020, Twitter removed a tweet by White House coronavirus adviser Scott Atlas linking to an AIER article that argued against the effectiveness of masks.[20]

Affiliations

AIER maintains a global network of local chapters called the Bastiat Society.[19] It partners with the Atlas Network and other groups.[21][22]

Funding

AIER owns American Investment Services Inc., an investment advisory firm whose private fund was valued at around $285 million in 2020.[23][8] The fund includes holdings in a wide range of companies, but holds a majority of its assets in diversified exchange-traded funds and gold investments. In 2020, about 14% of its investments were in information technology and telecom companies including Microsoft and Alphabet Inc., about 6% in electric and gas utilities, 5% in fossil fuel companies including Chevron and ExxonMobil, and 2% in food, alcohol, and tobacco stocks, including Mondelez International and Philip Morris International.[8][24]

Over half of AIER's funding comes from its investments, but it also receives contributions and foundation grants. In 2018 it reportedly received US$68,100 from the Charles Koch Foundation, approximately 3% of AIER's revenue for the year.[19][8][13][1] It has partnered with Emergent Order, a public relations company also funded by the Charles Koch Foundation.[8]

In 2019 the American Institute for Economic Research had total assets of $184,901,564.[3]

See also

References
  1. "American Institute for Economic Research" (PDF). ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  2. "2019 Officers" (PDF). American Institute for Economic Research. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  3. "2019 Annual Report" (PDF). American Institute for Economic Research. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  4. Cowgill, Terry (2020-10-06). "News Analysis: Disputed 'Great Barrington Declaration' issued by free-market think tank". The Berkshire Edge. Retrieved 2020-10-12.
  5. "Charity Navigator - Rating for American Institute for Economic Research". Charity Navigator. Retrieved 2020-10-12.
  6. Harwood, Frederick C.; Murray (2008). The Golden Constant: American Institute for Economic Research: 75 Years of Free Thinking on the Free Market (1933-2008). American Institute for Economic Research: Charles. ISBN 9780913610626.
  7. Staff (June 7, 2017). "American Institute for Economic Research names new president". The Berkshire Eagle.
  8. Nafeez Ahmed (2020-10-09). "Climate Science Denial Network Behind Great Barrington Declaration". www.bylinetimes.com. Retrieved 2020-10-11.
  9. Cowgill, Terry (13 October 2020). "'Great Barrington Declaration' and AIER feeling heat on both sides of the Atlantic". The Berkshire Edge. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  10. "Climate Change". American Institute of Economic Research. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  11. Greenhalgh, Trish; McKee, Martin; Kelly-Irving, Michelle (18 October 2020). "The pursuit of herd immunity is a folly – so who's funding this bad science?". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  12. Powell, Benjamin; Skarbek, David (2006-06-01). "Sweatshops and third world living standards: Are the jobs worth the sweat?". Journal of Labor Research. 27 (2): 263–274. doi:10.1007/s12122-006-1006-z. ISSN 1936-4768.
  13. Mandavilli, Apoorva; Stolberg, Sheryl Gay (2020-10-23). "A Viral Theory Cited by Health Officials Draws Fire From Scientists". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-10-28.
  14. "Critics Blast Controversial Declaration in Favor of Herd Immunity". Medscape. Retrieved 2020-10-28.
  15. "A Dangerous Libertarian Strategy for Herd Immunity". Bloomberg.com. 2020-10-15. Retrieved 2020-10-28.
  16. "The Useful Libertarian Idiocy of The Great Barrington Declaration". Niskanen Center. 2020-10-27. Retrieved 2020-10-28.
  17. Coren, Michael J. "A libertarian think tank just gave up on libertarianism". Quartz. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
  18. "The Center Can Hold: Public Policy for an Age of Extremes". Niskanen Center. 2018-12-18. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
  19. "American Institute for Economic Research". DeSmog. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
  20. Rahman, Khaleda (October 18, 2020). "Twitter Removes White House Adviser's Tweet Saying Masks Do Not Prevent COVID-19". Newsweek. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  21. Saverio-Eastman, Lucio. "Partnerships and Agreements for Our Chapters". American Institute of Economic Research. Archived from the original on 25 Oct 2020. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
  22. Nafeez Ahmed (2020-10-03). "Koch-Funded PR Agency Aided Great Barrington Declaration Sponsor". www.bylinetimes.com. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
  23. "American Investment Services: AIS - Disciplined, Diversified, Cost Effective". American Investment Services, Inc. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  24. American Investment Services (2020-10-29). "13F-HR".
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.