MarketPlace on think tanks | by Shane
What are think tanks? Who pays for them? So asks NPR's MarketPlace.
Under The Influence: Think Tanks and The Money That Fuels Them
A Marketplace Special Report with support from the Economist Magazine
Think tanks have become a growth industry. A handful existed a few decades ago. Now there are hundreds of these non-profit institutions. The marriage of multi-millions in private money and once-unorthodox ideas packs a powerful punch. President Bush has adopted domestic policies nurtured in think tanks from private social security accounts to fundamental tax reform. Marketplace explores what donors believe they get for their money, how ideas are bankrolled and promoted, and the thin line between think tank educational efforts and outright lobbying, as well as new efforts to reform the system.
You can listen to this series online, or hear extended interviews with some of the sources in those stories.