# Benjamin Friedman [ ![Benjamin Friedman](/sites/g/files/omnuum5976/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/bfriedman/files/bmfphoto.jpg?itok=Omn2bmCn) ](https://bfriedman.scholars.harvard.edu/sites/g/files/omnuum5976/files/2025-08/Benjamin%20M.%20Friedman%20C.V.%20%20%20%202025.pdf)[Curriculum Vitae](https://bfriedman.scholars.harvard.edu/sites/g/files/omnuum5976/files/2025-08/Benjamin%20M.%20Friedman%20C.V.%20%20%20%202025.pdf) **Benjamin M. Friedman** is the William Joseph Maier Professor of Political Economy, and formerly Chairman of the Department of Economics, at Harvard University. He joined the Harvard faculty in 1972. Mr. Friedman is the author of *Religion and the Rise of Capitalism* (Knopf, 2021), a fundamental reassessment of the foundations of current-day economics showing how religious thinking has shaped economic thinking ever since the beginnings of modern Western economics and how this influence continues to be at work today especially in the United States, and *The Moral Consequences of Economic Growth* (Knopf, 2005), an explanation of how rising living standards foster positive developments in the social, political and moral character of a society. His two other books for a general audience have been *Day of Reckoning: The Consequences of American Economic Policy Under Reagan and After* (Random House, 1988) and *Religious Influences on Economic Thinking: The Origins of Modern Economics* (MIT Press, 2024). In addition to these works for the general public, Mr. Friedman has also written and/or edited eleven other books, and more than 175 articles in professional journals, aimed primarily at economists and economic policymakers. Much of this work has focused on economic policy, and in particular the role of the financial markets in shaping how monetary and fiscal policies affect overall economic activity. Specific subjects of this work have included the effects of government budget deficits, guidelines for the conduct of U.S. monetary policy, and appropriate policy actions in response to crises in a country's banking or financial system. Mr. Friedman has also been a frequent contributor to publications reaching a broader audience, including especially *The New York Review of Books*. Mr. Friedman's current professional activities include serving as a director of the Private Export Funding Corporation and a trustee of the Pioneer Funds. For many years he was also a director of the Encyclopaedia Britannica and of the Council for Economic Education. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Mr. Friedman received the A.B., A.M. and Ph.D. degrees in economics from Harvard University; during his graduate study at Harvard he was a Junior Fellow of the Society of Fellows. He also received the M.Sc. degree in economics and politics from King's College, Cambridge (U.K.), where he studied as a Marshall Scholar. Among other distinctions, he has received the George S. Eccles Prize 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. **Office Address:** Littauer Center 127 **Email:** **Tel:** 617-495-4246 **Fax:** 617-495-7730 **Office Hours:** Office hours: Monday, 4:00- 5:30 P.M. If not available, Wednesday, 4:00-5:30 P.M. **Staff Support:** Jamina Coleman Littauer Center 127 **E-Mail:** **Tel:** 617-496-0586 ## Recent Publications Download 6 citations download- [BibTeX](/bibcite/export?pager_style=no_pager&number_of_items=6&sort_field=bibcite_year--desc&&content_filter%5B0%5D=368201&content_filter%5B1%5D=368196&content_filter%5B2%5D=368191&content_filter%5B3%5D=368161&content_filter%5B4%5D=368156&content_filter%5B5%5D=368171&&format=bibtex) - [EndNote X3 XML](/bibcite/export?pager_style=no_pager&number_of_items=6&sort_field=bibcite_year--desc&&content_filter%5B0%5D=368201&content_filter%5B1%5D=368196&content_filter%5B2%5D=368191&content_filter%5B3%5D=368161&content_filter%5B4%5D=368156&content_filter%5B5%5D=368171&&format=endnote8) - [EndNote 7 XML](/bibcite/export?pager_style=no_pager&number_of_items=6&sort_field=bibcite_year--desc&&content_filter%5B0%5D=368201&content_filter%5B1%5D=368196&content_filter%5B2%5D=368191&content_filter%5B3%5D=368161&content_filter%5B4%5D=368156&content_filter%5B5%5D=368171&&format=endnote7) - [Endnote tagged](/bibcite/export?pager_style=no_pager&number_of_items=6&sort_field=bibcite_year--desc&&content_filter%5B0%5D=368201&content_filter%5B1%5D=368196&content_filter%5B2%5D=368191&content_filter%5B3%5D=368161&content_filter%5B4%5D=368156&content_filter%5B5%5D=368171&&format=tagged) - [Marc](/bibcite/export?pager_style=no_pager&number_of_items=6&sort_field=bibcite_year--desc&&content_filter%5B0%5D=368201&content_filter%5B1%5D=368196&content_filter%5B2%5D=368191&content_filter%5B3%5D=368161&content_filter%5B4%5D=368156&content_filter%5B5%5D=368171&&format=marc) - [PubMedId](/bibcite/export?pager_style=no_pager&number_of_items=6&sort_field=bibcite_year--desc&&content_filter%5B0%5D=368201&content_filter%5B1%5D=368196&content_filter%5B2%5D=368191&content_filter%5B3%5D=368161&content_filter%5B4%5D=368156&content_filter%5B5%5D=368171&&format=pubmed_id) - [RIS](/bibcite/export?pager_style=no_pager&number_of_items=6&sort_field=bibcite_year--desc&&content_filter%5B0%5D=368201&content_filter%5B1%5D=368196&content_filter%5B2%5D=368191&content_filter%5B3%5D=368161&content_filter%5B4%5D=368156&content_filter%5B5%5D=368171&&format=ris) ### Forthcoming Friedman, Benjamin. n.d. “[A Century of Growth and Improvement](/publications/century-growth-and-improvement)”. *American Economic Review*. Friedman, Benjamin. n.d. “[A Century of Growth and Improvement](/publications/century-growth-and-improvement)”. *American Economic Review*. Friedman, Benjamin. n.d. “[Work and Consumption in an Era of Unbalanced Technological Advance](/publications/work-and-consumption-era-unbalanced-technological-advance)”. *Journal of Evolutionary Economics*. Friedman, Benjamin. n.d. “[Work and Consumption in an Era of Unbalanced Technological Advance](/publications/work-and-consumption-era-unbalanced-technological-advance)”. *Journal of Evolutionary Economics*. Friedman, Benjamin. n.d. “[Economics and Its Discontents](/publications/economics-and-its-discontents)”. *Schmollers Jahrbuch*. Friedman, Benjamin. n.d. “[Economics and Its Discontents](/publications/economics-and-its-discontents)”. *Schmollers Jahrbuch*. ### 2015 Friedman, Benjamin. 2015. “[Monetary Policy since the 2007-9 Financial Crisis](/publications/monetary-policy-2007-9-financial-crisis)”. In *International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences*, 2nd ed. Vol. 15. Oxford: Elsevier. Friedman, Benjamin. 2015. “[Monetary Policy since the 2007-9 Financial Crisis](/publications/monetary-policy-2007-9-financial-crisis)”. In *International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences*, 2nd ed. Vol. 15. Oxford: Elsevier. Friedman, Benjamin. 2015. “[A Predictable Pathology](/publications/predictable-pathology)”. *BIS Papers* 80 (January ). Friedman, Benjamin. 2015. “[A Predictable Pathology](/publications/predictable-pathology)”. *BIS Papers* 80 (January ). Friedman, Benjamin. (November) 2015. “[The Joys of Innovation: For Profit Only](/publications/joys-innovation-profit-only)”. *New York Review of Books*. Friedman, Benjamin. (November) 2015. “[The Joys of Innovation: For Profit Only](/publications/joys-innovation-profit-only)”. *New York Review of Books*. [ More arrow\_circle\_right ](/publications)