About Us

Economic development, business and peace are interlinked. There is little doubt that peace creates more economic benefits to a society than violence or war. Peace is conducive to business and areas of minimal violence are attractive to business investors. At the same time, business can play a decisive role in building and strengthening global peace through job and wealth creation.

Yet the value of peace to the world economy is poorly understood.

There is little understanding of the impacts of peace on business. There have been few studies on how to calculate the impact of improved peacefulness on a company’s market, costs structure or profit.

The Institute for Economics and Peace was established to fill this gap. As an independent not-for-profit research institute, it leads research into the relationships between business and peace, with special emphasis on collaborating with international partners.

The Institute has the following core tasks:

• Generate and lead research on the relationships between peace, business and economic development, working in partnership with governments, international business alliances, academics, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and others;
• Develop frameworks for demonstrating the economic benefits of peace to business, governments and civil society;
• Initiate wider debate and enable discussion through international conferences, publications and forums;
• Develop educational content for the study of peace within schools and institutions of higher education.

The Institute is developing a core research staff and draws on the insights and experience of external partners, both individual and institutional. It invites leading international figures - peace experts, academics and business people - to participate in its activities.