CENTRE D'ETUDES PROSPECTIVES ET D'INFORMATIONS INTERNATIONALES

Their core work

CEPII is France's foremost public research centre on international economics, producing quantitative analysis of trade flows, trade policy, and the economic effects of international agreements. Their core work involves building and applying econometric and equilibrium models to evaluate how policy decisions — tariffs, trade deals, non-tariff measures — reshape markets, firms, and supply chains. Within H2020, they contributed specialist modelling expertise to policy-relevant consortia: first on EU trade and investment architecture, then on quantitative tools for agri-food trade. They are best understood as a provider of rigorous economic evidence to policymakers and research consortia, not a general economics department.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their earlier H2020 engagement (EUTIP, 2017–2021), CEPII contributed to a broad Marie Curie training network on EU trade and investment policy — their role was likely supervisory and analytical across a wide policy canvas, with no specific methodological keywords recorded. By 2020, their second project (BATModel) shows a sharp methodological sharpening: keywords specify partial and general equilibrium models, firm heterogeneity, non-tariff measures, geographical indications, and global value chains — the vocabulary of high-precision trade econometrics. The trend is from broad policy engagement toward deep quantitative specialisation in trade modelling, with agri-food as the applied domain.

CEPII is moving toward applied sectoral modelling — specifically deploying their equilibrium model expertise in food and agriculture trade policy, which positions them well for future consortia focused on CAP reform, food supply chain resilience, or trade agreement impact assessment.

How they like to work

CEPII joins consortia as a specialist partner and has not led any H2020 project — consistent with their role as an analytical contributor rather than a project manager. With 49 unique partners across just 2 projects, they operate inside large, multi-institutional consortia, which suggests they are comfortable in complex partnership environments. There is no evidence of repeat partnerships, pointing to a broad network rather than a tight inner circle of recurring collaborators.

CEPII has worked with 49 unique partners across 14 countries in only 2 projects, indicating membership in large, geographically diverse European consortia. Their network spans well beyond France, consistent with the international scope of trade economics research.

What sets them apart

CEPII maintains some of Europe's most-cited international trade databases — including BACI, the harmonised bilateral trade database — giving them a data infrastructure advantage that most academic groups and consultancies cannot replicate. As a public research body under the French government, they carry institutional credibility that strengthens the policy relevance of any consortium they join. For a project needing both rigorous trade modelling capacity and policy legitimacy, CEPII brings both in one partner.

Highlights from their portfolio

• BATModel
  The only funded project in the dataset, and the one where CEPII's specific methodological fingerprint — equilibrium modelling, non-tariff measures, geographical indications — is fully visible, making it the clearest evidence of their applied expertise.
• EUTIP
  An MSCA Innovative Training Network on EU trade and investment policy, indicating CEPII's role in training the next generation of trade economists at the European level.