John N. Friedman

John N. Friedman is an associate professor of economics and international affairs and public policy. His research brings together theory and data, harnessing the power of large administrative datasets to yield policy-relevant insights on a wide range of topics, including taxation, healthcare, and education quality. His work has appeared in top academic journals as well as in major media outlets. His most well-known papers estimate the long-term effects of teachers on student outcomes such as college attendance and earnings; in just one year, a great teacher can raise the lifetime earnings of a single class of students by nearly $1.5 million. This work was cited by President Obama in his 2012 State of the Union Address. Friedman has also worked as special assistant to the President for economic policy at the National Economic Council in the White House from 2013-2014. He holds a PhD in economics, an AM in statistics, and a BA in economics, all from Harvard University. He is a faculty research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Las Vegas high-speed rail venture gets new owner (comments by John Friedman)

September 18, 2018 Wall Street Journal

Associate Professor of Economics John Friedman offered commentary on Brightline's expected acquisition of a private rail project on the Las Vegas Strip. "...Friedman concluded Brightline would be unable to service its debt burden on the Miami train system, in a study funded by a citizens group opposed to the rail line."

Ohio can save the American dream, repel robot revolution with better job skills, mayors are told (comments by John Friedman)

September 12, 2018 Cleveland Plain Dealer

Economist John Friedman said the dream of faring better than one's parents has been dwindling every year since the 1960s. "Friedman is working with Ohio State and more than 300 other colleges nationwide to find out what's helping people advance and holding them back."

Changing class: Are colleges helping Americans move up? (comments by John Friedman)

August 21, 2018 American Public Media

Colleges have long offered a pathway to success for just about anyone -- but new research shows that they're not doing enough to help students from poor families achieve the American dream. Economist John Friedman said children of well-to-do families are likely to stay that way, while children of poor families are likely to stay poor -- and "I think that's led to a real feeling that the American dream is slipping away from them."

Supreme Court ruling could pave a path to better schools (John Friedman mentioned)

August 13, 2018 Barrons

This article about the implications of the Supreme Court ruling on union membership focuses on its impact on teachers. It notes that economist John Friedman and his colleagues found that students of good teachers are less likely to experience teenage pregnancy, more likely to go to selective colleges, and end up earning more money as adults than students from comparable backgrounds who had worse teachers.

Even in a robust economy, all college graduates are not equal (comments by John Friedman)

May 23, 2018 Marketplace

Economist John Friedman said that while attending college is an "incredible boost to upward mobility," the path to higher education can have pitfalls for lower-income and minority students, who often leave college saddled with unsustainable debt after earning a degree that may not boost their income or upward mobility.

The world's economists can't wait to get their hands on US tax returns (research by John Friedman cited)

April 17, 2018 Quartz

Americans' tax records are the best dataset for assessing income inequality and the odds that a child born poor can become rich. The IRS still only accepts a small number of applications for studies every year, and a list put together by economist John Friedman shows they are almost all from elite schools.

Brown University's Friedman on how big data can impact economic mobility

March 12, 2018 GoLocalProv

Economist John Friedman spoke with GoLocalProv in a live video about how children's opportunities to climb the income ladder later in life depend heavily on where they grow up and how big data can play a role in designing place-based public policy.

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