Think Tanks Summary

Political Organizations

Think Tanks Summary

HERE are the top 23 "Think Tanks" in the U.S., created for the purpose of influencing United States government policies. By nature, all think tanks are conservative, and seek to promote the aims of rich US special interest groups, be they commercial, private, or military.

The think tanks are organized by 1999 budget size, from the richest, down to the smallest. White papers, lobbyists, and "news releases" are used to change and direct U.S. government policies, to the benefit of the think tank organizations.

Short Name	Full Name	1999 Annual Budget (millions)	Number of Employees	$ per Employee	Date Founded - Location
Hoover Institution	on War, Revolution and Peace	$ 211	200	1,055,000	1918 - Stanford, CA
RTI	Research Triangle Institute	$ 170	1,550	109,677	1958 - Research T.P., NC
Population Council		$ 146	430	339,535	1952 - New York, NY
CFR	Council on Foreign Relations	$ 138	149	926,174	1921 - New York, NY
Rand		$ 110	1,000	110,000	1948 - Santa Monica, CA
6 - 10
HIID	Harvard Institute for International Development	$ 52	224	232,143	1974 - Cambridge, MA
RFF	Resources for The Future	$ 48	67	716,418	1952 - Washington, DC
Winrock	International Institute for Agricul. Development	$ 32	178	179,775	1985 - Morrilton, AR
Aspen Institute	for International Economics	$ 28	130	215,385	1950 - Washington, DC
Carter Center	At Emory University	$ 27	177	152,542	1982 - Atlanta, GA
11 - 15
Heritage Foundation		$ 26	180	144,444	1973 - Washington, DC
Brookings Institution		$ 23	?	?	1916 - Washington, DC
East-West Center		$ 22	151	145,695	1960 - Honolulu, HA
CSIS	Center for Strategic and International Studies	$ 18	80	225,000	1962 - Washington, DC
IFPRI	International Food Policy Research Institute	$ 18	?	?	1975 - Washington, DC
16 - 20
Asia Society		$ 17	131	129,771	1956 - New York, NY
NBER	National Bureau of Economic Research	$ 15	45	333,333	1943 - Washington, DC
AEI	American Enterprise Institute for Pub. Pol. R.	$ 14	138	101,449	1943 - Washington, DC
Carnegie Endowment	for International Peace	$ 14	120	116,667	1910 - Washington, DC
Woodrow Wilson	International Center for Scholars	$ 13	76	171,053	1968 - Washington, DC
21 - 23
Cato Institute		$ 11	?	?	1977 - Washington, DC
Hudson Institute		$ 9	67	134,328	1961 - Indianapolis, IN
RSF	Russell Sage Foundation	$ 9	29	310,345	1907 - New York, NY
Source: National Institute for Research Advancement http://www.nira.go.jp/ice/tt-info/nwdtt/id-nor.html#304

Think Tank Taglines

1. research in domestic policy and international affairs
2. contract research - pharmaceuticals, public health
3. global operations research program
4. nonpartisan research center
5. independent research - science and technology

6. development assistance, training, and research
7. nonpartisan, independent economic research
8. helping the poor and disadvantaged
9. foster enlightened leadership
10. international nonprofit public policy center

11. policy research and analysis
12. independent research and policy institute

13. internationally recognized education and research organization
14. non-profit, private, foreign policy research institute
15. sustainable food policy

16. educating americans, fostering understanding with Asians
17. research organization
18. public policy research
19. economic, political, peace research
20. individual research

21. public policy analysis
22. domestic and foreign policy
23. research in the social sciences

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This Vaughns 1-Pagers Think Tanks Summary web page was updated on 2009-09-23.