Some of our economic problems are so tough we just need people to think really, really hard about them.
Economic think tanks are organizations that study economic issues, conduct research, and issue reports that can inform economic policy.
What’s the difference between economic law and economic policy, you ask? What a great question. Laws are laws; they’re super official and written on the books. Policy is how the government actually implements those laws. For instance, there might not be enough resources for a government to carry out a law as its intended, in which case they have to figure out what to do via their economic policy.
And there’s a lot of wiggle room when it comes to policy, which is where think tanks come in. They can help identify problems, and figure out how organizations can make the most out of the limited resources they have.
The thing about think tanks (and economics in general) is that they differ by ideology. Liberal politicians ask liberal think tanks for their opinions on issues they’re interested in, and conservative politicians ask conservative think tanks for their take on issues they’re invested in. So while think tanks are a fountain of brain power, they are by no means free of bias or ideology. After all, the economic policy you might want to implement depends on your opinion on what’s fair or right or important.