The mission of the Center for Economic and Policy Studies (CEPS) is to provide economic data and expertise to all levels of government to aide policy makers in making informed decisions and in designing effective and efficient public policies.

• ECONOMIC DATA SERVICES: The center currently collects and publishes data on local tax rates, highway financing, and income levels around the Commonwealth. VaStat is our ever-growing collection of links to economic and demographic data important to Virginia’s decision makers.

• REGULATORY ANALYSIS & DESIGN: Economic analysis can aid in estimating the economic impact of regulations on the economy. Good economic analysis can also help craft innovative regulatory strategies that may improve the effectiveness of the regulations in accomplishing their goals or reduce the cost of achieving those goals. The CEPS makes regulatory analysis expertise available to units of state and local government in Virginia and other states. Recent work includes the design of the carbon allowance auction for the Regional Greenhouse Gas initiative.
  

• IMPACT STUDIES: CEPS produces economic impact studies of various business and governmental projects. This may include estimating both local and state-wide effects. Recent studies include assessing the economic impact of Virginia's agriculture and forestry industries, the University of Virginia, the Virginia Horse Center and of Monticello.

• LOCATION STUDIES: The center currently produces location studies of various governmental projects. The purpose of such studies is to determine the optimal placement of resources based on distances and travel patterns of residents within regions. Most recently we produced a cemetary location study for the Virginia Department of Veteran Services.
  

• COMMENTARY: The Virginia News Letter series provides brief analysis of important economic and policy issues in the Commonwealth. Recent issues include discussions of gerrymandering, property tax relief, transportation, agriculture, public education, freight rail, and the homestead constitutional amendment.