The Brookings Institution, one of the United States' oldest think tanks, is founded through the merger of three organizations that had been created by philanthropist Robert S. Brookings.
The Brookings Institution, often simply called Brookings, is an American research group founded in 1916. Located on Think Tank Row in Washington, D.C., the organization conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics (and tax policy), metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, global economy, and economic development. Its stated mission is to "provide innovative and practical recommendations that advance three broad goals: strengthen American democracy; foster the economic and social welfare, security and opportunity of all Americans; and secure a more open, safe, prosperous, and cooperative international system."Brookings has five research programs at its Washington campus: Economic Studies, Foreign Policy, Governance Studies, Global Economy and Development, and Metropolitan Policy. It also established and operates three international centers which are based in Doha, Qatar (Brookings Doha Center, and since 2021, the Middle East Council on Global Affairs or MECGA); Beijing, China (Brookings-Tsinghua Center for Public Policy, and since 2020, the Brookings-Tsinghua China Office at Tsinghua University); and New Delhi, India (Brookings India, and since 2020, the Centre for Social and Economic Progress or CSEP).The University of Pennsylvania's Global Go To Think Tank Index Report has named Brookings "Think Tank of the Year" and "Top Think Tank in the World" every year since 2008. The Economist describes Brookings as "perhaps America’s most prestigious think-tank."Brookings states that its staff "represent diverse points of view" and describes itself as nonpartisan, and various media outlets have alternately described Brookings as centrist, liberal, or right-wing. An academic analysis of congressional records from 1993 to 2002 found that Brookings was cited by conservative politicians almost as often as by liberal politicians, earning a score of 53 on a 1–100 scale, 100 representing the most liberal score. The same study found Brookings to be the most frequently cited think tank by U.S. media and politicians.