The predecessor of the Beijing Institute of Economics was the Beijing Labor Cadre School and the Beijing Experimental Workers Technical School, which were established in 1956. The Beijing Experimental Workers Technical School was relocated from Beijing to the Second Machinery Department Shenyang 211 Technical School. In October 1958, the Ministry of Labor approved the merger of the two schools to form the Beijing Labor College. In 1962, the Beijing Labor College was closed. In February 1963, the State Council approved the establishment of the Beijing Institute of Engineering Economics based on the Beijing Institute of Labor. On 7 June, the State Council approved the change of the Beijing Institute of Engineering Economics to the Beijing Institute of Economics. The school was closed during the Cultural Revolution. On 22 April 1974, the Beijing Economic College was established with the approval of the State Council. In 1986, the Beijing Institute of Economics was listed as a key university in Beijing.