History

LEI was established more than seventy years ago as the stichting Landbouw-Economisch Instituut (Agricultural Economics Institute foundation) at the initiative of a number of agricultural organisations and with the support of the Dutch government. During the crisis in the 1930s, demand arose for greater insight into production costs in the agricultural sector. Businesses needed this to be able to improve their operations, and the government needed it in order to give its pricing policy a solid basis. The Koninklijk Nederlands Landbouwcomité (Royal Dutch Agricultural Committee) ultimately established LEI on 1 December 1940.

From 1941, the government joined the institute's board and took a role in its finances. In 1971, LEI became a ministerial foundation and the employees became civil servants. However, contact between the researchers and industry was maintained through the board and through various advisory bodies. In 1999, LEI was privatised, and it has been part of Wageningen University & Research centre since 2001.

What started out as an institute focusing on production costs soon gained a much broader range of tasks, as is also clear from the broad spectrum of tasks and specialisations of its employees. In 1950 LEI already had 175 employees, and increased this number to 324 in the 1960s. Since then, the number of employees has hovered around the same level, with a few ups and downs along the way.

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