The Committee for Economic Development of The Conference Board (CED) is an American nonprofit and nonpartisan public policy think tank. The board of trustees consist primarily of senior corporate executives from a range of U.S. industries and sectors. The organization has been credited with helping to create the

Marshall Plan The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was an American initiative enacted in 1948 to provide foreign aid to Western Europe. The United States transferred over $13 billion (equivalent of about $ in ) in economic re ...

History

According to '' Fortune'' the organization "originated in the Commerce Department" in 1942 and was created to encourage collaborative research among business leaders, economists, and New Deal politicians "to promote free enterprise and full employment, paying particular attention to the needs of small business". The first business leaders on board were Paul G. Hoffman, president of Studebaker Corporation; William Benton, co-founder of Benton & Bowles advertising firm; and Marion B. Folsom, treasurer of Eastman Kodak Company. CED was first formed to help the

U.S. economy The United States is a highly developed mixed-market economy and has the world's largest nominal GDP and net wealth. It has the second-largest by purchasing power parity (PPP) behind China. It has the world's seventh-highest per capita GDP ...

transition from a wartime to peacetime economy. At the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, CED worked to garner support among the American business community for the

. In January 2015, the Committee for Economic Development merged with

The Conference Board The Conference Board, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit business membership and research group organization. It counts over 1,000 public and private corporations and other organizations as members, encompassing 60 countries. The Conference Board c ...

. Both are non-partisan, non-lobbying, and have trustees drawn mainly from the business community.

Work

The CED has been credited with helping to create the Bretton Woods Agreement, the Employment Act of 1946 (and therefore the

Council of Economic Advisers The Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) is a United States agency within the Executive Office of the President established in 1946, which advises the President of the United States on economic policy. The CEA provides much of the empirical resea ...

and the

Joint Economic Committee The Joint Economic Committee (JEC) is one of four standing joint committees of the U.S. Congress. The committee was established as a part of the Employment Act of 1946, which deemed the committee responsible for reporting the current economic ...

) and the

. Since its inception, CED has promoted policies that its trustees believe will foster American economic growth and development and indirectly benefit the country and people. The organization conducts research and outreach efforts in the U.S. and abroad to change policy at all levels of government. More recently CED has also advocated to increase access to pre-kindergarten and

college A college ( Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

, for

campaign finance reform Campaign finance reform may refer to: * Reform of campaign finance Campaign finance, also known as election finance or political donations, refers to the funds raised to promote candidates, political parties, or policy initiatives and referen ...

nationally, for more women in corporate leadership, and for reduced government spending.

Stated aims

As of 2022 CED's stated aims are to sustain and promote

free enterprise In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any ot ...

, improve

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. ...

and healthcare, reform

campaign finance Campaign finance, also known as election finance or political donations, refers to the funds raised to promote candidates, political parties, or policy initiatives and referendums. Political parties, charitable organizations, and political ac ...

, enhance

corporate governance Corporate governance is defined, described or delineated in diverse ways, depending on the writer's purpose. Writers focused on a disciplinary interest or context (such as accounting, finance, law, or management) often adopt narrow definitions ...

, and improve the fiscal health of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

Reception

The organization has been called "the capitalists who cared enough about the system to save it."

History

Work

Stated aims

Reception

References

Further reading