# Committee for Economic Development > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Committee_for_Economic_Development > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Committee_for_Economic_Development.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Committee_for_Economic_Development > Source revision: 1351116433 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) American think tank This article needs more citations. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Committee for Economic Development" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (January 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Committee for Economic Development of The Conference Board Abbreviation CED Formation 1942 Type Think tank nonprofit organization Headquarters New York, NY, United States Website www.ced.org The **Committee for Economic Development of The Conference Board** (**CED**) is an American nonprofit and nonpartisan[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] public policy think tank founded in 1942. The board of trustees consists primarily of senior [corporate executives](/source/Corporate_executive) from a range of U.S. industries and sectors. CED has been credited with helping to create the [Marshall Plan](/source/Marshall_Plan). ## History According to *[Fortune](/source/Fortune_(magazine))* the organization "originated in the [Commerce Department](/source/United_States_Department_of_Commerce)" in 1942 and was created to encourage collaborative research among business leaders, economists, and [New Deal](/source/New_Deal) politicians "to promote free enterprise and full employment, paying particular attention to the needs of small business".[1] The first business leaders on board were [Paul G. Hoffman](/source/Paul_G._Hoffman), president of [Studebaker Corporation](/source/Studebaker); [William Benton](/source/William_Benton_(senator)), co-founder of [Benton & Bowles](/source/Benton_%26_Bowles) advertising firm; and [Marion B. Folsom](/source/Marion_B._Folsom), treasurer of [Eastman Kodak Company](/source/Kodak).[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] CED was first formed to help the [U.S. economy](/source/Economy_of_the_United_States) transition from a wartime to peacetime economy.[2] At the end of [World War II](/source/World_War_II), CED worked to garner support among the American business community for the [Marshall Plan](/source/Marshall_Plan).[2][3] In January 2015, the Committee for Economic Development merged with [The Conference Board](/source/The_Conference_Board).[4][*[better source needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability#Questionable_sources)*] Both are non-partisan, non-lobbying, and have trustees drawn mainly from the business community.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] ## Work The CED has been credited with helping to create the [Bretton Woods Agreement](/source/Bretton-Woods_Agreement), the [Employment Act of 1946](/source/Employment_Act_of_1946) (and therefore the [Council of Economic Advisers](/source/Council_of_Economic_Advisers) and the [Joint Economic Committee](/source/Joint_Economic_Committee)) and the [Marshall Plan](/source/Marshall_Plan).[1][2] Since its inception, CED has promoted policies that its trustees[*[who?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Words_to_watch#Unsupported_attributions)*] believe will foster American economic growth and development and indirectly benefit the country and people.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] The organization conducts research and outreach efforts in the U.S. and abroad to change policy at all levels of government. More recently[*[when?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Dates_and_numbers#Chronological_items)*] CED has also advocated to increase access to [pre-kindergarten](/source/Pre-kindergarten) and [college](/source/College), for [campaign finance reform](/source/Campaign_finance_reform_in_the_United_States) nationally, for more women in corporate leadership, and for reduced government spending.[3][*[better source needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability#Questionable_sources)*] ## Stated aims As of 2022 CED's stated aims were to sustain and promote [free enterprise](/source/Free_enterprise), improve [education](/source/Education) and [healthcare](/source/Health_care), reform [campaign finance](/source/Campaign_finance_in_the_United_States), enhance [corporate governance](/source/Corporate_governance), and improve the fiscal health of the [United States](/source/United_States).[3] ## Reception The organization has been called "the capitalists who cared enough about the system to save it."[2] ## References 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:1_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:1_1-1) Mudge, Stephanie L. (30 May 2019). ["Commentary: An Alliance Between Big Business and Democratic Socialists Isn't as Unlikely as It Sounds"](https://fortune.com/2019/05/30/capitalism-democratic-socialists/). *[Fortune](/source/Fortune_(magazine))*. Retrieved 2022-01-30. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-:0_2-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-:0_2-3) Allott, Daniel (2020-01-21). ["Capitalism must meet the challenge: Prosperity for all Americans"](https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/479179-capitalism-must-meet-the-challenge-prosperity-for-all-americans). *[The Hill](/source/The_Hill_(magazine))*. Retrieved 2022-01-30. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-About_CED_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-About_CED_3-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-About_CED_3-2) ["About"](https://www.ced.org/about). *Committee for Economic Development of The Conference Board*. Retrieved 2022-01-30. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["The Conference Board to Merge with the Committee for Economic Development"](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-conference-board-to-merge-with-the-committee-for-economic-development-300020593.html). *[PR Newswire](/source/PR_Newswire)* (Press release). Retrieved 2022-01-30. ## Further reading Schriftgiesser, Karl (1967). *Business Comes of Age. The Story of the Committee for Economic Development and Its Impact Upon the Economic Policies of the United States, 1942-1960*. New York: [Harper and Brothers](/source/Harper_and_Brothers). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [911692573](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/911692573). Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF National United States Israel Academics CiNii Other IdRef Yale LUX --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Committee for Economic Development](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Committee_for_Economic_Development) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Committee_for_Economic_Development?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.