National Bureau of Economic Research

A December 1, 2002, news story in the New York Times on the National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc., of Cambridge, MA, called the institution non-partisan but failed to identify a penny of the $10 million it receives in conservative philanthropic underwriting.

"Reporter David Leonhardt found time to report that the bureau, headed by Martin S. Feldstein, guru to Bush-economics, is the 'nation's premier economic research organization,' but couldn't do a simple Google search to determine where it gets its money.

"But reporter Leonhardt 'does' have some interesting things to say about Harvard University:


 * "Still, Ec10, as it is known at Harvard, is hardly neutral -- in its readings or its lectures -- and its point of view contributes a good deal to his importance. Over the last two decades, thousands of Harvard undergraduates have received a decidedly anti-tax, free-market-leaning introduction to economics.

"And there's this gem about Feldstein's partisanship and his crappy economic analysis, 'driven' by partisanship:


 * "For his part, Mr. Feldstein has shown little taste since the 1980's for straying from the Republican Party line. In 1992, he predicted that the Clinton administration's tax increase would stifle economic growth and do little to erase the deficit...In 2001, when President Bush was forming his cabinet, Mr. Feldstein and his wife began a Boston Globe article by writing, 'Paul O'Neill was an inspired choice for secretary of the Treasury.' Mr. Feldstein is also on the board of Eli Lilly, the pharmaceutical company with strong Republican ties.

"And the next time you hear someone refer to Feldstein as from Harvard, remember that, according to Feldstein,


 * "I have a Harvard office, but I hardly ever use it..."

Contact
1050 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02138 Phone: 617-868-3900 Email: info AT nber.org URL: http://www.nber.org

Funding
Between 1985 and 2001, the organization received $9,963,301 in 73 grants from only four foundations:
 * John M. Olin Foundation, Inc.
 * Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation
 * Scaife Foundations (Sarah Mellon Scaife)
 * Smith Richardson Foundation

Officers

 * Elizabeth Bailey, Chairman
 * John Clarkeson, Vice Chairman
 * Martin Feldstein, President and Chief Executive Officer
 * Susan Colligan, Vice President for Administration and Budget and Corporate Secretary
 * Robert Mednick, Treasurer
 * Kelly Horak, Controller and Assistant Corporate Secretary
 * Gerri Johnson, Assistant Corporate Secretary

Directors at Large

 * Peter C. Aldrich
 * Elizabeth E. Bailey
 * John H. Biggs
 * John S. Clarkeson
 * Don R. Conlan
 * Kathleen B. Cooper
 * Charles H. Dallara
 * George C. Eads
 * Jessica P. Einhorn
 * Martin Feldstein
 * Roger W. Ferguson, Jr.
 * Jacob Frenkel
 * Judith M. Gueron
 * Robert S. Hamada
 * Karen N. Horn
 * Judy Lewent
 * John Lipsky
 * Laurence Meyer
 * Michael H. Moskow
 * Alicia H. Munnell
 * Rudolph A. Oswald
 * Robert T. Parry
 * Marina v. N. Whitman
 * Martin B. Zimmerman

Directors by University Appointment

 * George Akerlof, University of California at Berkeley
 * Jagdish Bhagwati, Columbia University
 * Ray C. Fair, Yale University
 * Michael J. Brennan, University of California at Los Angeles
 * Glen G. Cain, University of Wisconsin
 * Franklin Fisher, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 * Saul H. Hymans, University of Michigan
 * Marjorie B. McElroy, Duke University
 * Joel Mokyr, Northwestern University
 * Andrew Postlewaite, University of Pennsylvania
 * Uwe E. Reinhardt, Princeton
 * Nathan Rosenberg, Stanford University
 * Craig Swan, University of Minnesota
 * David B. Yoffie, Harvard University
 * Arnold Zellner, University of Chicago

Directors by Appointment of Other Organizations

 * Richard B. Berner, National Association for Business Economics
 * Gail D. Fosler, The Conference Board
 * Martin J. Gruber, American Finance Association
 * Arthur Kennickell, American Statistical Association
 * Thea Lee, American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations
 * William W. Lewis, Committee for Economic Development
 * Robert Mednick, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
 * Angelo Melino, Canadian Economics Association
 * Jeffrey M. Perloff, American Agricultural Economics Association
 * John J. Siegfried, American Economic Association
 * Gavin Wright, Economic History Association

Directors Emeriti
Source
 * Andrew Brimmer
 * Carl F. Christ
 * George Hatsopoulos
 * Lawrence R. Klein
 * Franklin A. Lindsay
 * Paul W. McCracken
 * Peter G. Peterson
 * Richard Rosett
 * Eli Shapiro
 * Arnold Zellner