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About the Mercatus Center

Ideas into Action

Economics is everywhere. It's at the gas pump, in foreign aid, in the fluctuation of currency values. Economics is not just graphs and charts. It's real-world knowledge about the decisions people make and the effects of those decisions.

Incentives affect the choices people make. Some basic social and political structures facilitate prosperity. These are some of the core economic concepts that policy makers must understand to be effective. Unfortunately, a gap often exists between economic understanding and real-world decision making. Policy decisions miss their targets and create unintended and sometimes harmful consequences.

For over 25 years, the Mercatus Center at George Mason University has sought to bridge this gap. Mercatus applies scholarly research to the problems facing policy makers. Bringing together a network of scholars and experts from around the globe, the Mercatus Center provides policy makers with the economic tools to make sense of today's most pressing issues. Mercatus turns ideas into action.

The Mercatus Center is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization.

 

Mercatus Center Programs

Capitol Hill Campus Capitol Hill Campus is the central outreach program of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. The program bridges the gap between scholarship and policy by making academic research and methods available to policy makers, and grounding academics by making them aware of policy makers’ need for relevant analysis of public policy issues. Mercatus does this through academic courses and other programs held on Capitol Hill.

Global Prosperity Initiative The Global Prosperity Initiative of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University invests in and trains scholars whose work addresses the question, "Why do some societies prosper, while others remain stagnant and poor?"  Mercatus conducts research and then applies the findings to problems of international economic development as well as economic stagnation and decline in the United States.

Government Accountability Project The Government Accountability Project of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University helps policy makers improve the public sector management process by bringing research and analysis to agencies to develop quality information about their effectiveness. Better information about the effectiveness of programs enables policy makers to make informed decisions about allocating resources to programs that provide the maximum benefits to the public.

Regulatory Studies Program The Regulatory Studies Program of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University works within the university setting to improve the state of knowledge and debate about regulations and their impact on society through peer reviewed research, ultimately improving how government works in the regulatory arena.

Social Change Project The Social Change Project of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University supports a global network of interdisciplinary scholars whose research advances an understanding of social change. Scholars work to develop a more practical understanding of how social change occurs and how to create a freer society.