CEPR strives to fill important gaps in the public's understanding of economic and social policies. We aim to present information and analysis in an accurate and understandable manner so that people can effectively exercise their voices in a democracy.

UNITED STATES ECONOMICS

Economic Growth

• CEPR examines how government policies affect growth, employment, prices, poverty and health.

Federal Budget and National Debt

• CEPR scrutinizes policies that would affect our national debt and federal budgets.  Our Deficits and Spending issue page is more specifically focused on the federal budget deficit.

Housing and Foreclosures

• CEPR analyzes fluctuations of the housing market and its impact on families. Right to Rent is a policy that could help foreclosed homeowners.

Inequality and Poverty

• CEPR investigates economic and social policies that affect, as well as methods of measuring, levels of hardship, poverty and inequality in the U.S. 

Intellectual Property and Patents

• CEPR researches and offers policy solutions on intellectual property issues such as alternatives to copyrights, financing biomedical and drug research, and software development.

Jobs and Wages

• CEPR identifies and tracks trends affecting American workers and their wages and benefits, as well as unemployment rates. Topics of these analyses include: Direct Care Work, Minimum Wage, Work-Life Balance, and Work Sharing.

Labor Unions

• CEPR analyzes how union membership affects workers' wages and benefits.  CEPR also does research on public sector workers’ wages, benefits and pensions.

Medicare and Health Care

• CEPR explores economic policies that affect the U.S. health care system, including Medicare. Our Health Care Budget Deficit Calculator shows how future budget deficits would plummet if we had the same per person health care costs as other developed nations.

Social Security and Retirement

• CEPR examines the current state of, as well as potential effects of proposed policies on, the U.S. retirement system.  Social Security Monitor corrects misleading statements about Social Security by government officials and politicians.

Wall Street and Private Equity

• CEPR looks into the potential benefits of a Wall Street sales fee, also called the Financial Transaction Tax. CEPR also analyzes the private equity business model and examines its effects on the sustainability and competitiveness of companies and on outcomes for workers.

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS

Europe

• CEPR researches economic performance and social indicators in Europe, including in relation to the United States. CEPR has particularly focused on Greece, Latvia, and Spain.

Globalization and Trade

• CEPR looks at the impact of international financial institutions, especially the International Monetary Fund, on economic growth, poverty rates, and trade around the world.

Latin America and the Caribbean

• CEPR examines economic changes in Latin America, including how IMF, World Bank and WTO policies have affected countries in the region, and looks at the economic factors behind political developments there. Specific countries that CEPR focuses on include: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, and Venezuela.
• For more information, sign up for our Latin America News Roundup or visit its archives. Also check out The Americas Blog, which features social, political and economic analysis of the Western Hemisphere.