Economic Cooperation Administration

The Economic Cooperation Administration (ECA) was a United States government agency set up in 1948 to administer the Marshall Plan. It reported to both the State Department and the Department of Commerce. The agency's head was Paul G. Hoffman, a former head of Studebaker. Much of the rest of the organization was also headed by major business figures. The ECA had an office in the capital of each of the sixteen countries participating in the Marshall Plan. In theory the ECA served as joint administrator of the Marshall Plan development projects in each European nation. In practice, local officials knew far more about what was needed than ECA representatives, who developed a management strategy of listening to local officials and allowing them to set priorities for reconstruction assistance.