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About Us

The Political and Economic Research Council (PERC) is a non-partisan, non-profit policy institute devoted to research, public education, and outreach on public and economic policy matters. PERC works with both the public and private sector, harnessing the power of market forces and harmonizing them with a clear public interest in servicing the greater good.

Since 2002, PERC has engaged in ground-breaking economic research with a specific focus on information policy from quantifying the value of information flows to establishing benchmarks for consumer credit — with demonstrated policy impact. Redefining a think tank beyond research, PERC focuses on education, outreach, and the development of results and solutions. Staff members have pioneered diverse economic impact analyses and position papers for state, federal, and international policymakers. PERC has helped supporters achieve desired policy outcomes in state legislatures, in Congress, regulatory agencies, and abroad. Well respected in both private industry and the public sphere, PERC is one of three organizations designated by TransUnion Corp. for access to its TrenData database, with the other two being the Federal Reserve Bank and George Washington University.

Founded as the Information Policy Institute, PERC approaches each project with the expectation that a research deliverable will be subjected to the most intense scrutiny. As a testament to our success, our studies are often cited by high-level government officials years after their original release. We strongly believe that, when it comes to complex information policy issues, our track record and reputation are unsurpassed.

PERC is a 501(c)3 non-profit centrist enterprise located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The financial statements of the organization are audited annually and are available upon request. The organization relies on a staff of highly qualified individuals and resources projects with the top talent in the field through its adjunct fellow program. Under this business model, the financial growth of the company has been double digits year over year for 6 of the past 7 years.

 

PERC's areas of expertise include:

Consumer credit access in the United States

A series of projects examining the way various forms of consumer debt (i.e. credit card debt, mortgages, and auto loans) are priced and distributed (across socio-demographic tiers) in the United States.


Dataflows and Global Development

Projects in this category consider the interplay between technological and educational endowments, regulatory regimes, and economic development. Projects in this category have examined the relationship between a variety of factors—from cross-border data flows to credit reporting systems—and how these factors affect developing and developed world economic performance.

Data Security

Projects in this category are devoted to the increasingly politicized issue of consumer data security. PERC activities include quantitative study and field research assessing the quality of data security provided by firms. And PERC also examines the adequacy of legislative and industry initiated approaches to securing consumer data, both domestically and abroad.

Worldwide Sourcing

These activities are focused on the phenomenon of worldwide sourcing (better known as offshore outsourcing) and examining its economic impact domestically and abroad. PERC places particular emphasis on how cross-border data flows, data security practices, and legal frameworks for data protection may affect worldwide sourcing patterns.


Media Concentration and Convergence

PERC projects in this area are devoted to the idea that media consolidation will lead to less viewpoint diversity in media, undermining the quantity and quality of information available to the public with harmful consequences for our nation’s democratic discourse and lead to the emergence of an “Information Divide”.


Data Privacy

While many of PERC’s areas of research implicate issues of data privacy, this heading covers data privacy topics that do not fall under other existing categories. Projects in this area include examinations of consumer attitudes towards solicitation and direct marketing, irrespective of marketing channel.