American Institute for Economic Research

infobox Organization
name =


caption = AIER's Historic Cotswold Cottage
abbreviation = AIER
formation = 1933
location = Great Barrington, Massachusetts
website = [http://www.aier.org www.aier.org]

American Institute for Economic Research (AIER), located in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, is one of the oldest economic research organizations in the United States. Founded in 1933, AIER is an independent 501(c)(3) organization that represents no fund, concentration of wealth, or other special interests. AIER conducts research and publishes books and periodical on a wide array of economic issues, including personal finances, business cycles, monetary policy and property rights.

Mission

The mission of AIER is to conduct independent, scientific, economic research to educate individuals, thereby advancing their personal interests and those of the nation.

History

On the advice of Dr. Vannevar Bush, then vice-president and dean of engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Col. Edward C. Harwood founded AIER to conduct research into the wide range of economic, social, and monetary developments that had contributed to the catastrophic economic contraction of the Great Depression.

Harwood, a graduate of the United States Military Academy, was serving in the Army Corps of Engineers in the 1920s when he undertook an intensive study of economics, with particular emphasis on money-credit problems. Bush's support for Harwood was based on articles that Harwood has published in financial journals in 1928 and 1929 that accurately predicted the impending depression.

AIER was housed initially in an office at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, then moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts. At the end of World War II, Harwood relocated to a "white elephant" manor house in Great Barrington. In 1956-57, a printshop annex and warehouse were added, and in 1962 a research library was added to the hillside below the annex. Now known as the E. C. Harwood Library, the 10,000 square-foot building contains AIER's principal offices.

Publications

AIER has two regular periodical publications, the twice-monthly "Research Reports" and the monthly "Economic Education Bulletin". The Institute also publishes a number of books, including the best-selling "How To Avoid Financial Tangles", which was first published in 1938.

"Research Reports" offers twenty-two newsletters, in either digital or print format, that provide a concise discussion of a wide range of current issues including taxes, Social Security, rising inflation, the cost of living, insurance, financial fraud, and much more. One article each month is devoted to showing changes in economic activity.

"Economic Education Bulletin" consists of twelve monthly publications, which vary in length from four pages to book-length studies, providing a more in-depth treatment of issues pertaining to economics and personal finance.

Recent book length studies include: "The Constitutional Protection of Property Rights" (2008), "The Global Warming Debate: Science, Economics, and Policy" (2008), "How to Plan for Your Retirement Years" (2007 update), "How to Invest Wisely" (2007 update), "How to Avoid Financial Fraud" (2004), "If Something Should Happen" (2008) and "How to Avoid Financial Tangles" (2007 update).

ummer Fellowship

AIER offers a Summer Fellowship Program where Graduate Student Fellows and Research Fellows live and study together on AIER's campus to gain a unique, objective perspective into economic, monetary, and social issues. Prominent economists such as Anna J. Schwartz regularly participate in AIER's programs. Participants apply a historical, institutional, and methodological focus to economics, distinct from traditional undergraduate and graduate instruction.

Student Fellows receive a weekly stipend, room and board. Qualified students may apply for graduate school in absentia financial support; average fellowship awards may exceed $5,000. During four weeks in residence, Student Fellows participate in intensive seminars on property rights, scientific procedures of inquiry, sound money, and other topics. Assigned readings in these areas provide the basis for written assignments and seminar discussions. Seminar sessions are not conducted as formal lectures, but rather are structured to encourage a disciplined exchange of views.

Visiting Research Fellows receive a stipend, housing, office space and access to AIER's extensive research library. Fields of research typically include money, banking and credit; public and personal finance; economic and monetary history; the role of government in society; the methodology of economics; and the role of individual freedom, private property, and free enterprise in economic progress.

Academic conferences

Academic conferences are held periodically on AIER's campus. Past conferences have focused on topics such as "Property Rights", "Gold", "The Role of the Dollar", and "Global Climate Change" (about environmental economics). The next AIER conference is expected in Spring of 2009.

Funding and support

Financial support for AIER comes primarily from the small annual fees of thousands of sustaining members, from sales of its publications, and from tax-deductible contributions. AIER does not accept financial support from Government or private foundation sources.

External links

* [http://www.aier.org/ Official web site]
* [http://www.aier.org/research/worksheets-and-tools/cost-of-living-calculator Cost of Living Calculator]
* [http://www.aier.org/research/worksheets-and-tools/fuel-efficiency-calculator Comparative Fuel Efficiency Calculator]