The Jerusalem Institute for Market Studies (JIMS) is an independent, nonprofit economic policy think tank

Think tank

A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...

 whose mission is to promote social progress in Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

 through economic freedom

Economic freedom

Economic freedom is a term used in economic and policy debates. As with freedom generally, there are various definitions, but no universally accepted concept of economic freedom...

 and individual liberty.

JIMS, founded in 2003, regularly publishes influential economic policy papers and editorials, runs a number of innovative educational projects, and administers a unique national public opinion survey called the Israel Panel Study of Opinion Dynamics (IPSOD).

Impact

The University of Pennsylvania's Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program ranked JIMS among the top five Israeli think tanks, out of over 50 considered, in both 2008 and 2009. The last two years also saw JIMS ranked among the top 25 think tanks in the Middle East and North Africa region, and among the top 400 most important public policy research organizations in the world. The Global Survey of Think Tanks evaluated over 5,000 think tanks worldwide.

Research Activities

JIMS houses three research centers, the Center for Data Analysis (CDA), the Center for Public Policy (CPP), and the Center for the Study of Judaism and Economics (CSJE).

- CDA calculates Israel Tax Freedom Day

Tax Freedom Day

Tax Freedom Day is the first day of the year in which a nation as a whole has theoretically earned enough income to fund its annual tax burden. It is annually calculated in the United States by the Tax Foundation—a Washington, D.C.-based tax research organization...

 each year, publishes Israel's entry in the Economic Freedom of the World index, and administers the Israel Panel Study of Opinion Dynamics.

- CPP disseminates position papers to Israel's lawmakers and the general public on economic issues currently being debated in the Knesset. CPP's position papers are regularly cited in Knesset deliberations.

- CSJE is devoted to exploring the connection between Judaism and economic theory and policy. CSJE was inaugurated in November 2008 with a lecture on "Economics in the Talmud" by Professor Robert Aumann

Robert Aumann

Robert John Aumann is an Israeli-American mathematician and a member of the United States National Academy of Sciences. He is a professor at the Center for the Study of Rationality in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel...

, the winner of the 2005 Nobel Prize in Economics.

Educational Activities

JIMS runs a number of innovative educational programs that are unique in Israel. For example, JIMS is the only educational institution in the country with an interdisciplinary seminar series on the principles of classical liberalism

Classical liberalism

Classical liberalism is the philosophy committed to the ideal of limited government, constitutionalism, rule of law, due process, and liberty of individuals including freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and free markets....

. Yearly fellowships are offered to university students that attend the seminars. In addition, JIMS has a monthly public lecture series and organizes workshops on economics and public policy for working professionals and high school students.