The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) is a private, nonpartisan organization that facilitates cutting-edge investigation and analysis of major economic issues. It disseminates research findings to academics, government and business decision-makers, and the public by posting more than 1,200 working papers, publishing a number of books, and convening more than 150 scholarly conferences each year. The NBER does not take policy positions or engage in advocacy.
The NBER supports economic research by administering research grants that its affiliated researchers receive from government and private funders, by organizing research projects on emerging economic issues, and by maintaining an archive of more than 250 data sets for public use.
The NBER, headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is a network of more than 1,800 academic economists at over 180 North American colleges and universities. These researchers are leading contributors to the field. Forty-seven current or former NBER affiliates or board members have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences.
Many NBER research affiliates are tapped for government service and thereby have an opportunity to use their analytical skills in the design of public policy. Ten NBER affiliates have chaired the Council of Economic Advisers. Two past chairs of the Federal Reserve Board and many Federal Reserve governors were NBER affiliates prior to their service.
Conducting and Communicating Research
NBER research spans a wide range of issues. Recent projects have studied the economics of infrastructure, long-term investing principles for endowments and pension funds, labor market developments in the 21st century, supply chain risks, jurisdictional competition and the taxation of business income, and the challenges of economic measurement in the digital economy.
New research findings by affiliated researchers are circulated for discussion and comment through the NBER working paper series. Approximately 25 new papers are posted each week. These papers, circulated prior to the lengthy peer-review process, report both empirical and theoretical findings. There were more than 2.5 million downloads of NBER working papers in 2024. Working paper authors are required to disclose any financial or other interests that might bear on their research.
Non-technical summaries of six recent working papers appear monthly in The Digest; longer descriptions of research in specific programs, or carried out by particular researchers, are presented in the quarterly NBER Reporter.
Most NBER research conferences are live streamed on YouTube, where the NBER channel has more than 20,000 followers. Videos are posted for several weeks after each meeting.
Affiliated Researchers and Organizational Structure
NBER affiliates are selected in a highly competitive nomination process. They are appointed after review by panels of top researchers. About 60 new affiliates are selected annually from a pool of more than 300 nominees.
The NBER board of directors includes representatives of research universities, professional associations such as the American Economic Association and the National Association for Business Economics, and leaders from the business and labor communities. The NBER’s president and chief executive officer, MIT professor James Poterba, leads a staff of 45.
The NBER is supported by government and private foundation grants, contributions from corporations and individuals, subscription sales, and portfolio income.
The Role of Corporate Associates
Unrestricted corporate support, which has always been a key NBER resource, is especially important today, when there is great uncertainty regarding federal research funding. This support has been crucial in allowing NBER researchers to respond to emerging economic developments, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and in enabling early-career scholars—those who have not yet secured other sources of research support—to participate in NBER activities.
Corporate Associates receive unlimited access to all NBER working papers. They are also invited to send a delegation to the NBER’s annual Corporate Associates Research Symposium, a meeting at which a select group of NBER-affiliated scholars present their latest research and discuss its implications. The next Symposium will be held on Tuesday, April 21, 2026 in mid-town Manhattan. The NBER also convenes a reception for Corporate Associates at the National Association for Business Economics’ annual meeting, this year on Sunday, October 12, 2025 in Philadelphia. Corporate Associates provide annual support of $25,000 to advance the NBER’s research and dissemination mission.
For information on becoming a Corporate Associate, please contact Foundation and Corporate Relations Administrator, Abbie Murrell.