Mercatus Center, George Mason University

The Mercatus Center at George Mason University is a research, education, and outreach organization that works with scholars, policy experts, and government officials to connect academic learning and real world practice. Mercatus ("mer-KAY-tus") is the Latin term used to describe the activity of markets, trade, and commerce. The choice of this classical Latin name reflects the Mercatus Center's use of market-based tools and analysis to discover workable solutions to pressing economic and governmental problems. The mission of Mercatus is to promote sound interdisciplinary research and application in the humane sciences that integrates theory and practice to produce solutions that sustainably advance a free, prosperous, and civil society. Mercatus has several research and outreach programs: Capitol Hill Campus, the Government Accountability Project, the Regulatory Studies Program and the Global Prosperity Initiative, which support this mission by making academic analysis useful to policymakers. Mercatus also supports a number of research projects focused on bridging the gap between the textbook and the problem.