American Institute for Economic Research

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Template:Short description Script error: No such module "Distinguish". Script error: No such module "Unsubst". Script error: No such module "Infobox".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". The American Institute for Economic Research (AIER) is a classical liberal think tank located in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.[1][2] It was founded in 1933 by Edward C. Harwood, an economist and investment advisor, and is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.[3] From January 2022 to April 2025 the organization's president was William P. Ruger, who resigned to serve as Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Mission Integration under president Donald Trump.[4] Ruger was succeeded by Samuel Gregg in 2025.[5]

AIER says it supports "personal freedom, free enterprise, property rights, limited government, and sound money".[6]

AIER maintains a global network of local chapters called Harwood Salons (previously called the Bastiat Society).[7][8]

History

File:Edward C. Harwood.jpg
Edward C. Harwood

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.[9] With $200 saved from selling his articles, Harwood founded AIER in 1933.[9][3] According to The Berkshire Edge, this makes AIER the "oldest economic research institute in the United States".[10]

Almost since its inception, AIER has published periodicals. The initial two were the Investment Bulletin and the Research Reports.[11] Now, AIER publishes The Daily Economy, Fusion, and the Harwood Economic Review, which cover economics news, classical liberal and conservative philosophy, and economic and econometric scholarship, respectively.

Edward Stringham was appointed President of the Institute in 2017;[12] he was preceded by Stephen Adams,[13] Will Ruger became president in 2022,[14] and then Samuel Gregg took over the position in 2025.[5]

In 2019, the Museum of American Finance loaned its entire library collection to AIER, to be hosted, catalogued and made available there. The initial loan period was for five years.[15]

Policy positions

AIER's stated mission is to "[educate] people on the value of personal freedom, free enterprise, property rights, limited government, and sound money."[6] They take positions on specific policies such as free trade, deregulation, and the defense of certain civil liberties.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, AIER was known for spreading misinformation and for promoting a herd immunity strategy of "focused protection" to deal with the pandemic.[16][17]

AIER issued a statement in October 2020 called the Great Barrington Declaration that argued for a herd immunity strategy of "focused protection" to be put into effect before the general availability of COVID-19 vaccines.[17][18] It was roundly condemned by many public health experts.[17][19] Anthony Fauci, the infectious disease expert appointed by the White House, called the declaration "total nonsense" and unscientific.[17] Tyler Cowen, a classical liberal economist at George Mason University, wrote that while he sympathized with a classical liberal approach to deal with the pandemic, he considered the declaration to be dangerous and misguided.[20] The declaration was also criticized by the Niskanen Center,[21] a formerly classical liberal think tank[22] that now calls itself moderate.[23]

The declaration and its signatories, publicized by the Brownstone Institute, influenced some policies of U.S. President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.[24][25] AIER paid for ads on Facebook promoting its articles against government social distancing measures and mask mandates.[26]

The organization has published articles such as "Brazilians Should Keep Slashing Their Rainforest", which have been criticized by some as being critical of climate mitigation efforts.[27][28][29] The institution has also funded research on the comparative benefits that sweatshops supplying multinationals bring to the people working in them.[30][31]

Programs and affiliations

File:Sound Money Conference 2018.jpg
2018 Sound Money Seminar

AIER maintains a global network of local chapters called Harwood Salons (previously called the Bastiat Society).[7][8] According to its website, Harwood Salons "bring together leaders, thinkers, and local community members for engaging discussions on freedom, free markets, and sound money."[8] It partners for events, initiatives, and other programming with the Atlas Network and other groups such as the Free to Choose Network, Young Voices, and several university centers across the country.[32][33][34] Though AIER's campus is in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, in recent years the majority of its programming has taken place at a variety of academic and conference venues around the country.

Books

After more than two decades of printing pamphlets and booklets in the main AIER office in Great Barrington, the institute constructed a full printing press and bookbinding shop in 1957.[35] This press produced several self-published manuals of microeconomics for families and small business owners. The most widely distributed of these books included The Executor's Roadmap, How to Avoid Financial Tangles, and If Something Should Happen: How to Organize Your Financial and Legal Affairs, which has circulated more than 200,000 copies since 2008.[36]

Funding

AIER owns American Investment Services Inc., an investment advisory firm whose fund was valued at around $285 million in 2020.[37][38] 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.[38][39]

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.[26][17] It has partnered with Emergent Order, a public relations company also funded by the Charles Koch Foundation.[38]

In 2019 the American Institute for Economic Research had total assets of $184,901,564.[40]

References

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  4. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". Hans Nichols, "Gabbard installs Iran dove to prepare Trump's intel briefing" Axios, April 11, 2025 [1]
  5. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  6. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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External links

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