Committee for Economic Development

The Committee for Economic Development, now known as the Committee for Economic Development of The Conference Board, is an American nonprofit and nonpartisan public policy organization established in 1942. It was created during the Second World War to help the United States prepare for the transition from wartime production to a peacetime economy. Its model brought business leaders, economists, and public officials into a common forum to examine national economic problems and formulate policy recommendations. From the beginning, the organization emphasized the preservation of private enterprise and the achievement of broad employment, while also giving attention to the position of small businesses. CED emerged from an initiative associated with the U.S. Department of Commerce. Its early business leadership included Paul G. Hoffman of Studebaker Corporation, William Benton of Benton & Bowles, and Marion B. Folsom of Eastman Kodak. Rather than operating as a lobbying organization, CED developed a research-and-consensus approach in which senior executives and economists assessed policy choices and communicated their conclusions to government, business, and the public. The organization’s board of trustees has traditionally been composed primarily of senior corporate leaders representing multiple industries and sectors. During and immediately after the Second World War, CED took part in debates that shaped the postwar international and domestic economic order. It has been credited with contributing to the development of ideas associated with the Bretton Woods system, the Employment Act of 1946, and the Marshall Plan. Its postwar work helped build support among American business leaders for European reconstruction through the Marshall Plan. The Employment Act of 1946 also established institutional arrangements including the Council of Economic Advisers and the Joint Economic Committee, developments with which CED has been associated in historical accounts. Over subsequent decades, CED continued to publish research and convene business and policy communities around questions of economic growth, employment, education, health care, corporate governance, fiscal policy, and the role of government. Its work has generally sought to identify policies that support a productive market economy while addressing institutional and social conditions that affect long-term prosperity. More recent priorities described for the organization have included expanding access to pre-kindergarten and higher education, encouraging greater participation by women in corporate leadership, reforming campaign finance, improving corporate governance, and strengthening the fiscal position of the United States. CED merged with The Conference Board in January 2015. The combined organization retained CED’s policy research and public-affairs mission while operating within The Conference Board, a broader business research and membership institution. CED remains characterized as nonpartisan and non-lobbying. Its work is directed toward policy analysis and outreach rather than the sale of consumer products or the representation of a single commercial company. As of 2022, its stated aims included sustaining free enterprise, improving education and health care, reforming campaign finance, enhancing corporate governance, and promoting sound U.S. fiscal policy.

The Committee for Economic Development was established in 1942 against the background of the Second World War and the anticipated conversion of the American economy from military production to peacetime activity. Historical accounts describe its origins as connected with the Commerce Department and with an effort to create a structured dialogue among business leaders, economists, and New Deal-era public officials. The organization’s initial purpose was to consider how the United States could maintain economic stability, encourage private enterprise, and support high employment after the war. Small-business concerns were part of this original agenda. The first business figures associated with CED’s board included Paul G. Hoffman, president of Studebaker Corporation; William Benton, co-founder of the advertising firm Benton & Bowles; and Marion B. Folsom, treasurer of Eastman Kodak. Their participation reflected CED’s distinctive institutional design: senior executives supplied practical knowledge of production, investment, and employment, while economists and public officials contributed analytical and governmental perspectives. CED was not established as a conventional trade association or lobbying office. Its influence came principally through research, policy statements, and efforts to build agreement among influential participants. At the end of the war, CED addressed the international and domestic consequences of reconstruction. It has been credited in historical summaries with helping develop or advance ideas connected to the Bretton Woods Agreement, the Employment Act of 1946, and the Marshall Plan. In particular, CED worked to build support among American business leaders for the Marshall Plan, which provided a framework for European recovery. The Employment Act of 1946 created major federal economic-policy institutions, including the Council of Economic Advisers and the Joint Economic Committee, and CED has been associated with the policy environment that produced those changes. In the decades after the war, the organization continued to promote economic-growth policies that its trustees believed would benefit the United States and its population. It conducted research and outreach at multiple levels of government and engaged audiences beyond the corporate community. Its topics expanded over time to include education, health care, fiscal policy, corporate governance, campaign-finance reform, and the participation of women in corporate leadership. CED also advocated wider access to pre-kindergarten and college and, in some policy discussions, reductions in government spending. CED’s public identity has combined support for free enterprise with concern for the durability of the broader economic system. This combination led to descriptions of the organization as a group of capitalists willing to support reforms needed to preserve the system in which businesses operate. The organization has presented itself as nonpartisan and non-lobbying, distinguishing policy research and consensus-building from direct legislative representation. In January 2015, CED merged with The Conference Board. The post-merger organization became the Committee for Economic Development of The Conference Board. CED’s policy program continued under the larger organization, whose broader activities include economic and business research. By 2022, the stated CED agenda included sustaining free enterprise, improving education and health care, reforming campaign finance, strengthening corporate governance, and improving the fiscal health of the United States. It remains an active U.S. policy organization rather than a consumer-facing product brand.

• 2022

  Stated policy aims emphasize inclusive growth and institutional reform

  [1]Committee for Economic Developmenten.wikipedia.org

  CED’s stated aims include supporting free enterprise, improving education and health care, reforming campaign finance, strengthening corporate governance, and improving U.S. fiscal health.

• 2015

  Merger with The Conference Board

  [1]Committee for Economic Developmenten.wikipedia.org

  CED merges with The Conference Board and becomes the Committee for Economic Development of The Conference Board.

• 1947

  CED supports the Marshall Plan

  [1]Committee for Economic Developmenten.wikipedia.org

  CED helps garner American business support for the Marshall Plan and European postwar recovery.

• 1946

  Economic-policy institutions are created under the Employment Act

  [1]Committee for Economic Developmenten.wikipedia.org

  CED is credited in historical accounts with contributing to the policy environment surrounding the Employment Act of 1946, which established the Council of Economic Advisers and the Joint Economic Committee.

• 1945

  Postwar reconstruction becomes a central concern

  [1]Committee for Economic Developmenten.wikipedia.org

  Following the end of the war, CED works to build support within the American business community for European reconstruction and the emerging postwar economic order.

• 1942

  Committee for Economic Development is established

  [1]Committee for Economic Developmenten.wikipedia.org

  CED is formed during the Second World War to help the United States plan for the transition from wartime to peacetime economic activity and to encourage cooperation among business, economics, and government participants.

A business-oriented but nonpartisan policy institute that uses research, executive participation, and public outreach to develop recommendations for U.S. economic growth and institutional reform.

• Research and analysis · 1942

  Economic policy research

  CED produces analysis intended to inform debates over U.S. economic growth, employment, public finance, and the institutional conditions that support a functioning market economy. Its research is directed at business leaders, policymakers, and the wider public rather than at consumers purchasing a physical product.

• Public policy advisory work · 1942

  Policy recommendations

  The organization develops recommendations on issues including education, health care, campaign finance, corporate governance, fiscal policy, and economic development. These recommendations are framed as nonpartisan contributions to public discussion and are developed through research and engagement with business and policy communities.

• Convenings and communications · 1942

  Policy forums and outreach

  CED convenes or participates in discussions among corporate executives, economists, government officials, and other policy stakeholders. Its outreach function is designed to communicate research, encourage informed debate, and build agreement around economic-policy proposals.

• 1945Business support for the Marshall Plan

  United States · Europe

  After the Second World War, CED worked to build support among American business leaders for the Marshall Plan and the economic reconstruction of Europe.

  Outcome. The Marshall Plan became a central framework for European recovery; the specific independent contribution attributable to CED is described as support-building rather than sole authorship.

  Source

• 2015

  Merge with The Conference BoardM&A

  Background

  CED and The Conference Board were both described as nonpartisan organizations with strong business-community participation, creating institutional compatibility for combining their work.

  Action taken

  CED merged with The Conference Board in January 2015 and continued as the Committee for Economic Development of The Conference Board.

  Aftermath

  CED’s economic-policy research and outreach continued within The Conference Board’s broader business and research structure.

  Source

1. 1Committee for Economic Developmenten.wikipedia.org
2. 2Committee for Economic Development official websiteced.org