Committee for Economic Development

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 a nonprofit, nonpartisan, business-led public policy organization. CED's board of trustees consist primarily of senior corporate executives from a range of U.S. industries and sectors. The organization has been credited with helping to create the Marshall Plan.

History

CED was founded in 1942 by a group of business leaders led by Paul G. Hoffman, president of Studebaker Corporation; William Benton, co-founder of Benton & Bowles advertising firm; and Marion B. Folsom, treasurer of Eastman Kodak Company. CED was first formed to help the U.S. economy transition from a wartime to peacetime economy. At the end of World War II, CED worked to garner support among the American business community for the Marshall Plan.

Since its inception, CED has aimed to promote policies that its trustees believe will foster economic growth and development to benefit all Americans. The organization conducts research and outreach efforts in the U.S. and abroad to change policy at the local, state, and national levels. In recent decades, CED has increased access to pre-kindergarten and college, advocated campaign finance reform nationally, placed more women in corporate leadership, and reduced government spending.

In January 2015, the Committee for Economic Development merged with The Conference Board, given the many synergies between the two organizations. Both are non-partisan, non-lobbying, and have trustees drawn mainly from the business community.

Stated aims

CED's stated aims are to sustain and promote free enterprise, improve education and healthcare, reform campaign finance, enhance corporate governance, and improve the fiscal health of the United States.