The Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization at Washington University in St. Louis that combines academic research with public policy analyses. The mission of the Center is to serve as a bridge between policymakers and scholars by supporting scholarly research, public affairs programs, and other activities at the intersection of government and business — addressing some of the most important public policy issues facing America.

To this end, the Weidenbaum Center pursues a vigorous, unbiased program to address major public policy issues via research and reports, major forums, public debates, lecture series, and scholarly conferences. Researchers bring issues to the attention of a larger audience through interaction with business leaders, policymakers, scholars, and the media, and they publish edited volumes with contributions from a variety of scholars on major issues. Finally, the center also creates new scholarly expertise by providing doctoral student fellowships and support for dissertation research.

The Weidenbaum Center's unique leadership team is comprised of a leading political scientist, a renowned economist, and a prominent business leader. Created in 1975 as the Center for the Study of American Business under the direction of Murray Weidenbaum, the center was named in honor of Weidenbaum in 2001. At that time, Professor Steven S. Smith became director.