Established in 1971 in memory of Dr. Yisyahu Foerder with a donation from Bank Leumi, the institute's objective is to support basic theoretical and applied research in Economics at TAU.

The scope of research covers many areas: the organization of economic activity, game theory, industrial organization, technological change and economic growth, urban and regional economics, labor markets, financial markets, public economics, international trade, monetary economics and more.

The research staff consists of members of TAU's Eitan Berglas School of Economics. The school has an outstanding international reputation and features a unique blend of high quality research on economic theory, applied econometrics, and policy formulation and evaluation. Its members publish regularly in leading journals, including the American Economic Review, the Journal of Political Economy, the Quarterly Journal of Economics and Econometrica. Graduates of the institute occupy important positions in universities and in the business community.

The institute cooperates with the Eitan Berglas School of Economics in promoting visits by distinguished economists to TAU. Past visitors include Nobel laureates Kenneth Arrow, Milton Friedman, Lawrence Klein, Franco Modigliani, Paul Samuelson and James Tobin.

Institute associates participate regularly in major international scientific meetings and public debates and important policy discussions. With the help of the institute and its research activities, the school's contribution to current policy formation is enhanced.