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William Joseph Maier Professor of Political Economy, Harvard University

David Rubenstein Distinguished Visitor and Stephen M. Kellen Lecturer - Class of Spring 2009, Class of Spring 2021, and Class of Spring 2022


Benjamin M. Friedman is the William Joseph Maier Professor of Political Economy, and formerly Chairman of the Department of Economics, at Harvard University, where he has taught for nearly half a century. His latest book, Religion and the Rise of Capitalism, was published by Knopf in January 2022. His two other general interest books are The Moral Consequences of Economic Growth (Knopf) and Day of Reckoning: The Consequences of American Economic Policy Under Reagan and After (Random House).

 

Friedman has also written extensively on economic policy, in both books and articles aimed primarily at economists and economic policymakers. Much of this work has focused on the role of the financial markets in shaping how monetary and fiscal policies affect economic activity and inflation. He is also a frequent contributor to many American publications, including the New York Review of Books.

 

Among Friedman’s other distinctions, he has received the George S. Eccles Prize, awarded annually for excellence in writing about economics; the John R. Commons Award, given every two years in recognition of contributions to economics, and the Medal of the Italian Senate.

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