Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER)

The University of Maryland Bureau of Business and Economic Research was created in 1946 with the hiring of economist Dr. John Cover to organize and direct the Bureau. Cover headed the BBER until his retirement in 1962. As with similar bureaus in most other major land-grant universities, the BBER has provided academic research into regional economic concerns. The Bureau's stated purpose is to provide research, education, and service to the university and the state. In particular, the BBER's research has focused on the economic, environmental, and fiscal problems facing Maryland and its local governments.

One such study, documented in depth here, was the Maryland Tax Study, a project undertaken at the request of the State of Maryland. The research for this project, led by Dr. Samuel B. Chase, took place in 1963-1964. The final report, published in 1965, provided data and analytic material, while avoiding specific policy recommendations, on projections of Maryland state and local taxes, revenues, and expenditures.

From 1947 to 1961 the Bureau published the quarterly Studies in Business and Economics to disseminate the results of the research. After 1962, the BBER concentrated on supporting research for publication in scholarly journals and monographs. Throughout the Bureau's history, areas of research included state economic development, state and local public finance, and natural resources and the environment. Of particular concern was the environmentally-sound development of the resources of the Chesapeake Bay. Although the Bureau was independent of the various academic departments of the University, its researchers also taught in the Department of Education. At one time, it was part of the Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences.