Studies

By Topic

AEI’s studies were the core of its research program for decades. Studies cover a variety of topics and time periods, motivated by issues of public importance and scholarly interest. These studies are separated by topic. 

Long Range Studies

AEI’s long-range studies examined major issues in public affairs from a historical perspective. Guided by the interests of our scholars and needs in Washington, these studies helped shape policy debate throughout the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. For instance, Lorna and Felix Morley’s The Patchwork History of Foreign Aid (American Enterprise Association, 1961) was a provocative discussion of foreign aid programs. 

Evaluative Studies

From its founding, AEI has been concerned about federal government growth. In the 1960s, William Baroody Sr. proposed periodic evaluations of federal government programs. In 1963, AEI published a study on the Rural Electrification Administration, arguing that it had “fulfilled the purpose for which it was created” and that its future actions would be only tangentially related to the statutory language. The study argued further that the “rural cooperatives have demonstrated insufficient efficiency to justify their continued support at public expense.” 

Baroody referred to the importance of the evaluative studies again in 1969. He wanted experts to write studies of government programs of about 150 pages. The purpose was to examine the programs’ statutory basis, intent, and performance. Yale Brozen was named director of Evaluative Studies, which continued through 1976. AEI President Chris DeMuth revived them in the late 1990s, and the first new study, written by Douglas Besharov and Peter Germanis in 2001, examined the Women, Infants, and Children program (commonly known as “WIC”).