The International Foundation for Research in Experimental Economics (IFREE) was established in 1997 by Dr. Vernon L. Smith to support research and education in experimental economics. Today, IFREE remains the only foundation annually supporting experimental research projects, graduate and post-doctoral education, seminars and outreach workshops in experimental economics, and outreach activities in the application of experimental economic research to important public policy questions.

In 2002, IFREE-founder Dr. Vernon Smith was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics for "having established laboratory experiments as a tool in empirical economic analysis, especially in the study of alternative market mechanisms."