Top Think Tanks, as of April 2026

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This page is part of a larger set of rankings for research items, serials, authors and institutions made available on this site. A FAQ is available.

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Institutions need satisfy the following criteria to be included: Institutions having the following words in its name or its name translation on EDIRC:
A series of rankings by different criteria are aggregated. The average rank score is determined by taking a harmonic mean of the ranks in each criterion. For a list of criteria, see the general ranking page.
For 10/10: This ranking takes only publications in the last 10 years into account.
For 10/10: The ranking here is limited to the best 10 authors from each institution for each criterion. Authors with multiple affiliations count proportionally to the affiliation share they set for the score and the author count. Rankings for criteria HIndex and Students are from the general ranking.
Authors who are deceased or whose email address with RePEc is invalid are not counted, the latter under the assumption that they have moved or have died
There are 9298 institutions with 73371 registered authors evaluated for all the rankings
For Think Tanks, these are 262 institutions with 1905.97 members.

The data presented here are experimental. They are based on a sample of the research output in Economics and Finance. Only material catalogued in RePEc is considered. For any citation based criterion, only works that could be parsed by the CitEc project are considered. For any ranking of people, only those registered with the RePEc Author Service can be taken into account. And for rankings of institutions, only those listed in EDIRC and claimed as affiliation by the respective, registered authors can be measured. Thus, this list is by no means based on a complete sample. You can help making this more comprehensive by encouraging more publications to be listed (instructions) and more authors to register (form). For more details on the various rankings that are available as well for documentation, follow this link.

Entity	Full ranking		Last 10 years		10 best authors		Last 10 years, 10 best authors		Top 5% authors		More
Authors	Short	Details	Short	Details							More
Institutions	Short	Details	Short	Details	Short	Details	Short	Details	All years	Last 10	More
Regions	Short	Details	Short	Details							More

All publications, all authors

Rank	Institution	Score	Authors	Author Shares
1	National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), Cambridge, Massachusetts (United States)	1	564	143.05
2	Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), London, United Kingdom	2.13	419	56.75
3	Brookings Institution, Washington, District of Columbia (United States)	3.50	39	24.42
4	ifo Institut - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung an der Universität München e.V., München, Germany	4.07	203	154.40
5	Peter G. Peterson Institute for International Economics (IIE), Washington, District of Columbia (United States)	4.68	50	35.32
6	DIW Berlin (Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung), Berlin, Germany	5.14	142	100.81
-	Brookings Institution → Economic Studies, Washington, District of Columbia (United States)	5.20	13	8.32
7	Resources for the Future (RFF), Washington, District of Columbia (United States)	8.08	64	47.95
8	Institutet för Näringslivsforskning (IFN), Stockholm, Sweden	8.51	104	67.46
9	Kiel Institut für Weltwirtschaft - Leibniz Zentrum zur Erforschung globaler ökonomischer Herausforderungen (IfW), Kiel, Germany	8.69	89	59.68
10	Motu: Economic & Public Policy Research, Wellington, New Zealand	10.48	22	18.13
11	Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg, Germany	11.21	76	60.77
12	RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Essen, Germany	14.06	75	54.36
13	Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung Halle (IWH), Halle, Germany	14.09	50	29.31
14	Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), Dublin, Ireland	14.19	81	66.03
15	Beijing Institute of Technology → Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research (CEEP), Beijing, China	14.41	42	38.53
16	W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, Kalamazoo, Michigan (United States)	14.71	16	14.81
17	Sciences Po → Sciences économiques → Centre de recherche en Économie (OFCE), Paris, France	14.89	52	30.39
17	Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI), Tokyo, Japan	17.06	55	35.02
18	National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR), London, United Kingdom	17.14	55	44.14
19	Centre d'études prospectives et d'informations internationales (CEPII), Paris, France	17.59	44	23.81
20	American Enterprise Institute, Washington, District of Columbia (United States)	19.62	18	17
-	Brookings Institution → Global Economy and Development Program, Washington, District of Columbia (United States)	19.79	13	6.72
21	Government of Japan → Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) → Institute of Developing Economies, CHiba, Japan	20.30	43	39.37
-	DIW Berlin (Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung) → Forschungsbasierte Infrastruktureinrichtung "Sozio-oekonomisches Panel (SOEP)", Berlin, Germany	21.27	23	17.32
21	Bruegel, Bruxelles/Brussel, Belgium	21.70	20	12.82
22	Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy, Moscow, Russia	22.22	130	82.92
23	University College Dublin → Geary Institute, Dublin, Ireland	23.09	31	13.93
24	Urban Institute, Washington, District of Columbia (United States)	23.94	27	23.44
25	Rimini Centre for Economic Analysis (RCEA), Rimini, Italy	25.25	42	12.79
26	Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas (CIDE), México, Mexico	26.85	33	29.23
27	Grupo de Análisis para el Desarrollo (GRADE), Lima, Peru	28.40	25	20.30
28	Government of Finland → Valtion taloudellinen tutkimuskeskus (VATT), Helsinki, Finland	29.09	23	18.27
29	Puey Ungphakorn Institute for Economic Research (PIER), Bangkok, Thailand	29.75	16	11.71
30	Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), Bruxelles/Brussel, Belgium	29.83	17	12.61
31	Mercatus Center, Arlington, Virginia (United States)	30.51	28	19.97
32	European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI), Bruxelles/Brussel, Belgium	31.22	10	2.16
33	Institut der Deutschen Wirtschaft, Köln, Germany	32.78	16	15.09
34	Cato Institute, Washington, District of Columbia (United States)	32.82	9	4.59
35	Institute of Social Studies (ISS), Den Haag, Netherlands	34.74	18	14.50
36	University of Michigan → Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy → Center for Local, State and Urban Policy (CLOSUP), Ann Arbor, Michigan (United States)	35.77	1	1
36	Council on Foreign Relations → Maurice R. Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies, Washington, District of Columbia (United States)	35.93	1	0.47
37	Fundación para la Educación Superior y el Desarrollo (Fedesarrollo), Bogotá, Colombia	36.02	30	27.60
38	Elinkeinoelämän Tutkimuslaitos (ETLA), Helsinki, Finland	37.40	16	12.98
39	Bard College → Levy Economics Institute, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York (United States)	37.74	21	13.28
40	CASE-Center for Social and Economic Research, Warszawa, Poland	38.00	27	19.61
41	Group for Research in Applied Economics (GRAPE), Warszawa, Poland	39.75	20	10.41
42	Shadow Open Market Committee, Rochester, New York (United States)	42.46	2	1.33
43	Centro de Estudios Públicos, Santiago, Chile	42.87	8	6.59
44	Rimini Centre for Economic Analysis (RCEA), Waterloo, Canada	43.41	26	4.07
45	C. D. Howe Institute, Toronto, Canada	44.06	9	4.97
46	Instytut Badań Strukturalnych, Warszawa, Poland	47.50	23	21.34
47	University of Cape Town → Faculty of Commerce → School of Economics → Development Policy Research Unit, Cape Town, South Africa	47.54	16	15
47	Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), Jakarta, Indonesia	47.75	23	20.05
48	Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), Washington, District of Columbia (United States)	47.75	14	11.72
49	Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), San Francisco, California (United States)	51.42	6	3.60
50	The Conference Board, New York City, New York (United States)	51.54	4	2.04
51	Economic Policy Institute, Washington, District of Columbia (United States)	52.20	5	2.53
52	Labore, Helsinki, Finland	52.61	11	7.60
53	Overseas Development Institute (ODI), London, United Kingdom	54.79	16	11.72
54	Resolution Foundation, London, United Kingdom	54.92	1	0.95
55	Central European Labour Studies Institute (CELSI), Bratislava, Slovakia	54.94	19	11.47
56	Universiti Sains Malaysia → Centre for Policy Research (CPR), Minden, Malaysia	55.99	1	1
57	Nordisk Institutt for studier av innovasjon, forskning og utdanning (NIFU), Oslo, Norway	56.47	11	9.37
58	Council on Economic Policies (CEP), Zürich, Switzerland	56.54	5	4.52
59	Prometeia, Bologna, Italy	60.02	9	7.05
-	Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB) → Forschungsdatenzentrum der Bundesagentur für Arbeit, Nürnberg, Germany	61.44	3	2.89
60	International Security and Development Center (ISDC), Berlin, Germany	62.35	7	4.48
61	Centro de Debate de Politica Publica (CDPP), São Paulo, Brazil	62.74	1	0.50
62	Europaplattfrom Wien-Brüssel, Wien, Austria	64.17	1	0.80
63	Kammer für Arbeiter und Angestellte für Wien → Abteilung Wirtschaftswissenschaft und Statistik, Wien, Austria	66.06	11	10.20
64	Washington Center for Equitable Growth, Washington, District of Columbia (United States)	66.08	1	1
65	Growth Dialogue, Washington, District of Columbia (United States)	68.59	2	1.50

10 best authors in each, 10 last publication years

Rank	Institution	Score	Authors	Author Shares
1	National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), Cambridge, Massachusetts (United States)	1.07	564	10
2	Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), London, United Kingdom	2.84	419	10
3	ifo Institut - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung an der Universität München e.V., München, Germany	2.86	203	10
4	DIW Berlin (Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung), Berlin, Germany	3.72	142	10
5	Beijing Institute of Technology → Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research (CEEP), Beijing, China	5.76	42	10
6	Kiel Institut für Weltwirtschaft - Leibniz Zentrum zur Erforschung globaler ökonomischer Herausforderungen (IfW), Kiel, Germany	6.93	89	10
7	Institutet för Näringslivsforskning (IFN), Stockholm, Sweden	7.37	104	10
8	Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg, Germany	7.80	76	10
9	Resources for the Future (RFF), Washington, District of Columbia (United States)	8.87	64	10
10	Peter G. Peterson Institute for International Economics (IIE), Washington, District of Columbia (United States)	9.62	50	10
11	Brookings Institution, Washington, District of Columbia (United States)	10.16	39	10
12	Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), Dublin, Ireland	10.96	81	10
13	Sciences Po → Sciences économiques → Centre de recherche en Économie (OFCE), Paris, France	11.03	52	10
13	Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung Halle (IWH), Halle, Germany	12.13	50	10
14	RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Essen, Germany	12.52	75	10
-	Brookings Institution → Economic Studies, Washington, District of Columbia (United States)	14.10	13	8.32
15	Centre d'études prospectives et d'informations internationales (CEPII), Paris, France	15.60	44	10
16	Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI), Tokyo, Japan	15.93	55	10
17	W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, Kalamazoo, Michigan (United States)	16.86	16	10
-	DIW Berlin (Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung) → Forschungsbasierte Infrastruktureinrichtung "Sozio-oekonomisches Panel (SOEP)", Berlin, Germany	17.25	23	10
18	Motu: Economic & Public Policy Research, Wellington, New Zealand	17.88	22	10
19	Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy, Moscow, Russia	17.91	130	10
20	National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR), London, United Kingdom	19.50	55	10
21	Government of Japan → Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) → Institute of Developing Economies, CHiba, Japan	19.53	43	10
21	Government of Finland → Valtion taloudellinen tutkimuskeskus (VATT), Helsinki, Finland	20.81	23	10
22	Bruegel, Bruxelles/Brussel, Belgium	21.82	20	10
23	Group for Research in Applied Economics (GRAPE), Warszawa, Poland	22.81	20	10
24	Instytut Badań Strukturalnych, Warszawa, Poland	24.36	23	10
25	Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), Bruxelles/Brussel, Belgium	24.83	17	10
26	American Enterprise Institute, Washington, District of Columbia (United States)	26.16	18	10
27	Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas (CIDE), México, Mexico	26.91	33	10
28	Institut der Deutschen Wirtschaft, Köln, Germany	27.34	16	10
29	Institute of Social Studies (ISS), Den Haag, Netherlands	29.35	18	10
-	Brookings Institution → Global Economy and Development Program, Washington, District of Columbia (United States)	29.57	13	6.72
30	Mercatus Center, Arlington, Virginia (United States)	30.06	28	10
31	Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), Jakarta, Indonesia	31.80	23	10
32	Elinkeinoelämän Tutkimuslaitos (ETLA), Helsinki, Finland	32.47	16	10
33	Grupo de Análisis para el Desarrollo (GRADE), Lima, Peru	33.06	25	10
34	European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI), Bruxelles/Brussel, Belgium	33.15	10	2.16
35	Puey Ungphakorn Institute for Economic Research (PIER), Bangkok, Thailand	33.22	16	10
36	University College Dublin → Geary Institute, Dublin, Ireland	34.14	31	10
37	Washington Center for Equitable Growth, Washington, District of Columbia (United States)	34.62	1	1
38	University of Cape Town → Faculty of Commerce → School of Economics → Development Policy Research Unit, Cape Town, South Africa	36.95	16	10
38	Rimini Centre for Economic Analysis (RCEA), Rimini, Italy	37.98	42	10
39	Urban Institute, Washington, District of Columbia (United States)	37.99	27	10
40	Council on Economic Policies (CEP), Zürich, Switzerland	38.90	5	4.52
41	European Xtramile Centre of African Studies (EXCAS), Liège, Belgium	40.27	2	0.45
42	Labore, Helsinki, Finland	42.55	11	7.60
43	EcoAustria Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Wien, Austria	43.25	3	2.80
44	Bard College → Levy Economics Institute, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York (United States)	43.52	21	10
-	Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB) → Forschungsdatenzentrum der Bundesagentur für Arbeit, Nürnberg, Germany	43.83	3	2.89
45	Rimini Centre for Economic Analysis (RCEA), Waterloo, Canada	45.46	26	4.07
46	The Conference Board, New York City, New York (United States)	46.57	4	2.04
47	Prometeia, Bologna, Italy	46.70	9	7.05
48	International Security and Development Center (ISDC), Berlin, Germany	47.64	7	4.48
49	Central European Labour Studies Institute (CELSI), Bratislava, Slovakia	47.89	19	10
50	Center for the Study of the Economies of Africa (CSEA), Abuja, Nigeria	48.93	3	2.51
51	Resolution Foundation, London, United Kingdom	53.26	1	0.95
-	ifo Institut - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung an der Universität München e.V. → Niederlassung Dresden, Dresden, Germany	54.05	12	8.18
52	CASE-Center for Social and Economic Research, Warszawa, Poland	54.69	27	10
53	Nordisk Institutt for studier av innovasjon, forskning og utdanning (NIFU), Oslo, Norway	54.74	11	9.37
54	Lebanese American University → Center for Policy Action, Beirut/Byblos, Lebanon	55.54	1	1
55	Kammer für Arbeiter und Angestellte für Wien → Abteilung Wirtschaftswissenschaft und Statistik, Wien, Austria	56.36	11	10
56	Agenda Austria, Wien, Austria	57.88	4	2.90
57	Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER), Ibadan, Nigeria	59.08	3	2.12
58	Overseas Development Institute (ODI), London, United Kingdom	60.32	16	10
59	Economic Development Initiatives (E.D.I.), Bukoba, Tanzania	60.66	2	1.50
60	Tax Justice Network, Chesham, United Kingdom	61.64	3	3
61	Fundación para la Educación Superior y el Desarrollo (Fedesarrollo), Bogotá, Colombia	61.84	30	10
62	African Economic Research Consortium, Nairobi, Kenya	65.04	11	3.40
63	Archbridge Institute, Washington, District of Columbia (United States)	65.71	1	1
64	Trustbridge Rule of Law Foundation, New Delhi, India	67.07	7	7
65	Policy Center for the New South, Rabat, Morocco	67.40	12	10

Credits:

Citations from CitEc project by José Manuel Barrueco Cruz, University of Valencia, Spain. Hardware provided by Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Económicas (IVIE), Valencia, Spain.
Abstract views and downloads statistics from LogEc project by Sune Karlsson, Örebro University, Sweden.
Author registration, institution database, and ranking computations by Christian Zimmermann.
RePEc has been initiated by Thomas Krichel.

We do our best, but we cannot exclude errors.

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