American Institute for Economic Research

The American Institute for Economic Research (AIER) is a libertarian think tank located in Great Barrington, MA. Founded in 1933 by Edward C. Hardwood, AIER's mission is to "[educate] people on the value of personal freedom, free enterprise, property rights, limited government, and sound money." Commentary by the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment notes that AIER "seeks to advance its campaigns against [business] regulations by downplaying and denying the scientific evidence for a range of health and environmental risks," and that AIER's "denial of the causes and potential consequences of climate change is a longstanding feature of its lobbying."

According to DeSmog, AIER is "tied to funding from the Koch petrochemical and industrial empire and an investment firm with significant holdings in fossil fuels." AIER also owns American Investment Services (AIS), an investment advisory organization whose "earnings" help fund AIER. Some of AIS's investments are in the fossil fuel and petrochemical industries, with holdings including Chevron, Dow Chemical, Philip Morris International, ExxonMobil, and others.

AIER is a partner of the State Policy Network, a web of right-wing “think tanks” and tax-exempt organizations in 50 states, Washington, D.C., Canada, and the United Kingdom.

News and Controversies

The Great Barrington Declaration

In October 2020, a statement opposing COVID-19 shutdowns and advocating for a "herd immunity" approach was introduced at an event hosted by AIER. Known as the "Great Barrington Declaration," the open letter recommended that governments allow younger, healthier people to become infected with COVID-19 while reserving "focused protection" for the vulnerable, in order to reach herd immunity. The intended outcome of this plan was to allow a resumption of daily life as quickly as possible.

Backlash from experts in the public health and epidemiology fields was immediate. In a statement by the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the organization denounced the Great Barrington Declaration, calling the herd immunity strategy to COVID-19 “inappropriate, irresponsible, and ill-informed.” The Director-General of the World Health Organization stated during an October 12 media briefing, “Never in the history of public health has herd immunity been used as a strategy for responding to an outbreak, let alone a pandemic. It is scientifically and ethically problematic.”

The declaration was authored by Stanford University professor Jay Bhattacharya, former Harvard Medical School professor Martin Kulldorff, and Oxford University professor Sunetra Gupta, with over 30 original co-signers (of varying degrees of expertise in epidemiology). As of June 2024, the online form claims to have 940,000+ signatories from around the world. However, as investigative journalist Nafeez Ahmed explained in an article published in the Byline Times, there appears to be no vetting process to verify the medical and scientific credentials of signatories. AIER is also the registered domain name owner of the website publishing the Declaration, gbdeclaration.org.

Promotion of the Oregon Petition

In July 2001, AIER published an issue of its Economic Education Bulletin, titled "A Climate of Opinion: The Kyoto Protocols and Atmospheric Science." The bulletin rejected the scientific basis for the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which aimed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It was published just months after the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change had concluded that “there is new and stronger evidence that most of the warming observed over the last 50 years is attributable to human activities”.

Instead, the bulletin highlighted the "Global Warming Petition Project," also known as the Oregon Petition. Co-organized by the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine, it claimed that, "There is no convincing scientific evidence that human release of carbon dioxide, methane, or other greenhouse gases is causing or will, in the foreseeable future, cause catastrophic heating of the Earth’s atmosphere and disruption of the Earth’s climate.” The petition has subsequently been widely discredited by scientific experts.

Activities

Bastiat Society

According to AIER, the Bastiat Society program is a "global network of individuals committed to advancing free trade, individual freedom, and limited government." AIER claims that their chapters host "over 200 lectures, discussions, seminars, workshops, and conferences in over 15 countries each year."

Sound Money Project

The Sound Money Project (SMP) was launched in January 2009 to "conduct research and promote awareness about monetary stability and financial privacy," according to AIER's website. SMP primarily publishes commentary and analysis on "monetary policy, alternative monetary systems, financial markets regulation, cryptocurrencies, and the history of monetary and macroeconomic thought."

Ties to the State Policy Network

AIER is a partner of the State Policy Network (SPN). SPN is a web of right-wing “think tanks” and tax-exempt organizations in 48 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the United Kingdom. As of June 2024, SPN's membership totals 167. Today's SPN is the tip of the spear of far-right, nationally funded policy agenda in the states that undergirds extremists in the Republican Party. SPN Executive Director Tracie Sharp told the Wall Street Journal in 2017 that the revenue of the combined groups was some $80 million, but a 2022 analysis of SPN's main members IRS filings by the Center for Media and Democracy shows that the combined revenue is over $152 million. Although SPN's member organizations claim to be nonpartisan and independent, the Center for Media and Democracy's in-depth investigation, "EXPOSED: The State Policy Network -- The Powerful Right-Wing Network Helping to Hijack State Politics and Government," reveals that SPN and its member think tanks are major drivers of the right-wing, American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)-backed corporate agenda in state houses nationwide, with deep ties to the Koch brothers and the national right-wing network of funders.

In response to CMD's report, SPN Executive Director Tracie Sharp told national and statehouse reporters that SPN affiliates are "fiercely independent." Later the same week, however, The New Yorker's Jane Mayer caught Sharp in a contradiction. In her article, "Is IKEA the New Model for the Conservative Movement?," the Pulitzer-nominated reporter revealed that, in a recent meeting behind closed doors with the heads of SPN affiliates around the country, Sharp "compared the organization’s model to that of the giant global chain IKEA." She reportedly said that SPN "would provide 'the raw materials,' along with the 'services' needed to assemble the products. Rather than acting like passive customers who buy finished products, she wanted each state group to show the enterprise and creativity needed to assemble the parts in their home states. 'Pick what you need,' she said, 'and customize it for what works best for you.'" Not only that, but Sharp "also acknowledged privately to the members that the organization's often anonymous donors frequently shape the agenda. 'The grants are driven by donor intent,' she told the gathered think-tank heads. She added that, often, 'the donors have a very specific idea of what they want to happen.'"

A set of coordinated fundraising proposals obtained and released by The Guardian in early December 2013 confirm many of these SPN members' intent to change state laws and policies, referring to "advancing model legislation" and "candidate briefings." These activities "arguably cross the line into lobbying," The Guardian notes.

Ties to the Bradley Foundation

Between 2020 and 2022, the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation and the Bradley Impact Fund donated a combined $350,000 to AIER.

Bradley Files

In 2017, the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD), publishers of SourceWatch, launched a series of articles on the Milwaukee-based Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, exposing the inner-workings of one of America's largest right-wing foundations. 56,000 previously undisclosed documents laid bare the Bradley Foundation's highly politicized agenda. CMD detailed Bradley's efforts to map and measure right wing infrastructure nationwide, including by dismantling and defunding unions to impact state elections; bankrolling discredited spin doctor Richard Berman and his many front groups; and more. Find the series here at ExposedbyCMD.org.

Ties to the Koch Network

Between 2018 and 2021, AIER received over $110,000 from the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation. The Koch Foundation has also donated nearly $1.5 million to the Emergent Order Foundation, a PR firm that engaged in hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of marketing consulting for AIER.

In addition, AIER received $54,133 from the Atlas Network in 2018, and $20,000 from the Cato Institute in 2022, both of which are tied to the Koch network.

AIER has also provided fellowships to academics in various Koch-funded programs. This includes Peter Boettke, the former president of the Mont Pelerin Society (of which Charles Koch has been a member), as well as Michael Munger, an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute.

Koch Wiki

Charles Koch is the right-wing billionaire owner of Koch Industries. As one of the richest people in the world, he is a key funder of the right-wing infrastructure, including the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and the State Policy Network (SPN). In SourceWatch, key articles on Charles Koch and his late brother David include: Koch Brothers, Americans for Prosperity, Stand Together Chamber of Commerce, Stand Together, Koch Family Foundations, Koch Universities, and I360.

Funding

American Institute for Economic Research is not required to disclose its funders but major foundation supporters can be found through their IRS filings. Here are some known contributors:

• American Online Giving Foundation: $14,512 (2021-2022)
• Atlas Network: $54,133 (2018)
• Bartley J Madden Foundation: $10,000 (2018)
• Bastiat Society: $39,000 (2017)
• Bessemer Giving Fund: $50,000 (2020)
• Bill Kent Family Foundation: $6,000 (2020-2021)
• Bradley Impact Fund: $50,000 (2022)
• Cato Institute: $20,000 (2022)
• Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation: $110,904 (2018-2021)
• Creigh Family Foundation: $8,000 (2020-2022)
• DonorsTrust: $193,700 (2020-2022)
• Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund: $231,695 (2017-2021)
• Griot Family Foundation: $21,400 (2019-2022)
• John William Pope Foundation: $50,000 (2020-2022)
• JP Humphreys Foundation: $86,000 (2019-2022)
• Ken W Davis Foundation: $20,000 (2020-2022)
• Lincoln Financial Foundation: $7,500 (2022)
• Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation: $300,000 (2020-2022)
• National Philanthropic Trust: $345,000 (2017-2021)
• Ohnell Family Foundation: $15,000 (2021-2023)
• Pierre F & Enid Goodrich Foundation: $65,000 (2019-2022)
• Sarah Scaife Foundation: $100,000 (2022)
• Schulman Foundation: $15,000 (2020-2022)
• Schwab Charitable Fund: $26,800 (2020-2022)
• The Chicago Community Trust: $75,000 (2020)
• Thomas W Smith Foundation: $300,000 (2019-2022)
• Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program: $61,200 (2020-2021)
• Woodford Foundation for Limited Government: $30,000 (2018-2022)

Core Financials

2022

• Total Revenue: $3,395,556
• Total Expenses: $8,551,275
• Net Assets: $109,253,196

2021

• Total Revenue: $3,768,400
• Total Expenses: $7,708,404
• Net Assets: $119,375,746

2020

• Total Revenue: $2,549,173
• Total Expenses: $6,955,964
• Net Assets: $109,771,818

2019

• Total Revenue: $4,350,200
• Total Expenses: $6,428,704
• Net Assets: $108,997,827

2018

• Total Revenue: $2,222,727
• Total Expenses: $5,129,945
• Net Assets: $99,404,250

Personnel

Staff

As of June 2024:

• Rachel Altman, External Relations Manager
• Laura Arce, Research Associate
• Jacob Bruggeman, Associate Editor of Fusion Magazine
• Richard Donovan, Facilities Manager
• Peter C. Earle, Senior Research Fellow
• Alexander Gleason, Publications Manager
• Samuel Goldman, Editor of Fusion Magazine
• Michael Graeff, IT and Security Manager
• Samuel Gregg, Friedrich Hayek Chair in Economics and Economic History
• Aidan Grogan, Donor Communications Manager
• Ben Hansford, Donor Relations Manager
• Jackie Harrington, Administrative Assistant
• Walker Haskins, Program Assistant
• Paul Hawkins, Facilities Associate
• Bob Hayden, Facilities Associate
• David Hebert, Senior Research Fellow in Research & Education
• Suzanne Hermann, Library Manager
• Anna Holley, Deputy Director of Bastiat Society
• Michele Kearns, Vice President of Finance & Human Resources
• Jason Kelly, Director of Data and Technology
• Michael Kowalski, Hospitality Manager
• William J. Luther, Director of Sound Money Project
• Cathy Marchand, Development Associate Supervisor
• Paul Mueller, Senior Research Fellow
• Britt Paul, Director of Development
• Laurie Pshenishny, Assistant Comptroller
• Richard M. Reinsch II, Editor-in-Chief and Director of Publications
• David C. Rose, Senior Research Fellow
• William Ruger, President
• Oxana Rusu, Senior Program Associate
• Brian Sampson, Facilities Associate
• Thomas Savidge, Research Fellow
• Rachel Shabani, Graphic Designer
• Jason Sorens, Senior Research Fellow
• Micha Sparks, Research Associate
• Cole Terlesky, Senior Web Developer
• Claire Tyskanella, Human Resources Associate
• Laura Williams, Managing Editor
• Ryan M. Yonk, Director of Educational Programs

Fellows and Contributors

• Charles Baird, Senior Fellow
• Adewale Bankole, Bastiat Society African Regional Coordinator
• Peter Boettke, Senior Fellow
• Joakim Book, Research Fellow
• Donald J. Boudreaux, Associate Senior Research Fellow
• Robert L. Bradley Jr., Senior Fellow
• Scott A. Burns, Fellow
• Nicolás Cachanosky, Senior Fellow, Sound Money Project
• Art Carden, Senior Fellow
• James L. Caton
• Arthur M. Diamond Jr., Senior Fellow
• Gerald P. Dwyer, Senior Fellow, Sound Money Project
• Richard M. Ebeling, Senior Fellow
• Vincent Geloso, Senior Fellow
• George Gilder, Senior Resident Fellow
• Vance Ginn, Associate Research Fellow
• Steve H. Hanke, Advisor, Sound Money Project
• David Hart, Literary Consultant
• David R. Henderson, Senior Fellow
• Joshua R. Hendrickson, Senior Fellow, Sound Money Project
• Thomas L. Hogan, Associate Senior Research Fellow
• Jerry L. Jordan, Advisor, Sound Money Project
• J.P. Koning, Fellow, Sound Money Project
• Robert F. Mulligan, Senior Fellow
• Michael Munger, Senior Fellow
• Raymond C. Niles, Senior Fellow
• Gerald P. O'Driscoll Jr., Senior Fellow
• Alan Reynolds, Senior Fellow
• Richard M. Salsman, Senior Fellow
• Alexander William Salter, Senior Fellow, Sound Money Project
• Amity Shlaes, Distinguished Visiting Fellow
• John Tamny, Research Fellow
• Nikolai G. Wenzel, Associate Research Fellow
• Lawrence H. White, Advisor, Sound Money Project

Governance

As of June 2024:

Board of Trustees

• Terry W. Anker
• Katherine H. Delay
• Nelson Furlano
• Douglas L. Harwood
• Bradley K. Hobbs
• Adam Kissel
• James C. Lordeman
• Reed E. Phillips
• Surse T. Pierpoint
• Benjamin Powell
• Gregory M. van Kipnis

Standing Committee

• Peter T. Calcagno
• Lenore Ealy
• Anthony Gill
• Kirk Harwood
• Keith A. Hocter
• Barry Linder
• Edward Lopez
• Richard Michael Salsman
• Robert J. Schimenz

Voting Members

• Terry W. Anker
• John L. Barry
• William J. Bergman
• Timothy J. Birney
• Roy E. Bouffard
• Anthony Carl Breuer
• Peter T. Calcagno
• J. R. Clark
• Andrew H. Davis
• Mary M. Davis
• Ramon DeGennaro
• Katherine H. Delay
• Stephen Dewey
• Angela Dills
• Stephen M. Doncaster
• Harold F. Dvorak
• Gerald Dwyer
• Lenore Ealy
• Richard Ebeling
• Latimer B. Eddy
• Laura A. Fiske
• John H. Foulke
• Nelson Furlano
• Thomas E. Gift
• Anthony Gill
• Opal Gilmore
• Ronald A. Gilmore
• Bruce Gore
• James E. Greer
• Meyer A. Gross
• Kerry Halferty Hardy
• Kirk Harwood
• Frederick C. Harwood
• Douglas L. Harwood
• Michelle Harwood
• W. Scott Harwood
• Bradley K. Hobbs
• Keith A. Hocter
• Neil D. Holden
• Howard Kent
• Terry Kibbe
• Adam Kissel
• Steven E. Landsburg
• Keming Liang
• Barry Linder
• Seth Lipsky
• Gary Anthony Lombardo
• Edward Lopez
• James C. Lordeman
• William J. Luther, PhD
• Edward J. McLaughlin
• Evan Miller
• Stephen C. Miller
• Robert Mulligan
• Raymond Niles
• Jason Osborne
• Ramon Parellada
• William S. Peirce
• Reed E. Phillips
• Surse T. Pierpoint
• Benjamin Powell
• Grant R. Randall
• Bruce M. Rodenberger
• Richard Michael Salsman
• Robert J. Schimenz
• Frederick J. Schroeder
• Richard A. Seeley
• David Spurr
• Frank P. Statkus
• Walker F. Todd
• Gregory M. van Kipnis

Contact

American Institute for Economic Research
250 Division Street, PO Box 1000
Great Barrington, MA 01230-1000

EIN: 04-2121305
Phone: (888) 528-1216
Email: press@aier.org
Web: www.aier.org
Facebook: American Institute for Economic Research - AIER
Instagram: @aierdotorg
LinkedIn: American Institute for Economic Research - AIER
Twitter: @aier
YouTube: AIER Library

Articles and Resources

IRS 990 Filings

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018