BRIE was founded on one simple premise—that there can be no long-term low-tech prosperity for the advanced economies and that continued leadership in the development, production and use of new technologies is key to economic health. BRIE pursues research on the different ways industrialized economies create competitive advantage and how these differences affect international economic and political relations. Through such landmark publications as Manufacturing Matters, BRIE research has shown that national comparative advantage is created not revealed, that high-tech trade patterns are massively influenced by domestic policies, that what a nation produces and trades—the composition of domestic production—matters mightily for its growth and security.

All BRIE work remains faithful to one, basic intellectual premise: any attempt to analyze the complex global interplay of politics and markets must be rooted in the concrete daily reality of industrial production and competition. To this end, BRIE’s research is grounded in detailed case studies and expert assessments of industries and institutions. These individual projects then inform BRIE’s wider theoretical formulations about economic dynamics, trends, industrial structures, and their implications for political relations.

BRIE also believes that radical changes in the world economy raise new questions and challenge conventional modes of thought. Established models of how national and international economies operate and interact, and the policies and business strategies based on them, must be reconsidered.
BRIE therefore constantly seeks to expand the terms of current debates, reshaping traditional conceptions, inventing new ones. BRIE’s work rests on the notion that the great issues of the day require both a political and technical resolution, and hence a real understanding of political economy. BRIE integrates debate about seemingly technical economic issues into broader frameworks. BRIE’s views are often iconoclastic, at their best forcing new debate and discussion.