Mercatus Center: mission, leadership and finances
Research center at George Mason University, founded in 1980, that studies regulation and economic policy.
Also known as Mercatus
Organization
| Founded | 1980 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Arlington, VA |
| EIN | 54-1436224 |
| Tax status | 501(c)(3) |
| Website | mercatus.org |
Finances (IRS Form 990)
| Total revenue | $47.4 million |
|---|---|
| Total expenses | $49.3 million |
| Total assets | $43.1 million |
| Tax year | 2023 |
What it does
The Mercatus Center is a university-based research center at George Mason University in Arlington, Virginia. It publishes working papers on regulation, spending, monetary policy, innovation and the economy, and runs fellowships.
Mercatus Center is listed here in the category "Think tanks". A listing on 4conservative.com describes an organization; it is not an endorsement of it or of its positions.
History
It was founded in 1980 and Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok, economists associated with George Mason, are among its prominent affiliates. It is financed by donors, including Charles Koch.
Mercatus Center is a think tank. It is headquartered in Arlington, VA. Its IRS tax status is 501(c)(3). Like other organizations in this collection, it is described here from its own published material and from public records, and the facts on this page are limited to what those sources state.
Leadership and funding
Mercatus files a Form 990, shown here, as a nonprofit affiliated with the university. Its filing is separate from the university's.
The IRS figures on this page come from the latest Form 990 filing that ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer lists for the organization, for tax year 2023: total revenue of $47.4 million, total expenses of $49.3 million and total assets of $43.1 million at year end. ProPublica lists the filer as Mercatus Center Inc. The figures describe a single tax year and can differ sharply from year to year; check the filing itself and the organization's own site for the current picture.
Where it stands
Mercatus favors market-based analysis of policy, with a focus on regulation and knowledge.
These summaries reflect the organization's own stated mission and publicly known activities as of the date below; they are neutral descriptions, not evaluations. Related organizations on this site include Cato Institute, Reason Foundation, Competitive Enterprise Institute.
Sources
Profile last reviewed November 8, 2026