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Alex Friedman

Alex Friedman

25 commentaries

Alex Friedman, a former chief financial officer of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is Co-Founder and CEO of Novata.

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  1. Private Equity’s ESG Generation
    dibosco1_GETTY_ESG STANDARDS private equity Getty Images

    Private Equity’s ESG Generation

    Jul 12, 2022 Sébastien Mazella di Bosco & Alex Friedman argue that an often-maligned industry could take environmental, social, and governance investing mainstream.

  2. Hacking the Tragedy of the Commons
    afriedman25_Teera Konakan Getty Images_ green investment Teera Konakan Getty Images

    Hacking the Tragedy of the Commons

    Dec 7, 2021 Alex Friedman is bullish about new consortiums designed to mobilize privately held companies behind climate efforts.

  3. The US and China Are Not Destined for War
    krulak5_Forrest AndersonGetty Images_USChinaflags Forrest Anderson/Getty Images

    The US and China Are Not Destined for War

    Aug 17, 2021 Charles C. Krulak & Alex Friedman list four reasons to believe that the so-called Thucydides Trap can be avoided this time around.

  4. How to Fix the Gates Foundation
    afriedman23_ David RyderGetty Images_bill gates foundation David Ryder/Getty Images

    How to Fix the Gates Foundation

    May 28, 2021 Alex Friedman & Julie Sunderland identify three ways to boost charitable organizations' impact – including by making them divorce-proof.

  5. The Meaning of 200,000 COVID-19 Deaths
    afriedman22_ANGELA WEISSAFP via Getty Images_covid-19 deaths Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

    The Meaning of 200,000 COVID-19 Deaths

    Sep 22, 2020 Alex Friedman puts a deplorable US milestone into perspective – and urges action to prevent further tragedy.

  1. op_drchowdhury1_ IDREES MOHAMMEDAFP via Getty Images_modiindiaelection Idrees Mohammed/AFP via Getty Images

    India’s Despotic Election

    Debasish Roy Chowdhury

    For the past decade, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been eroding civil liberties and minority rights, curtailing dissent, undermining democratic institutions, and building a cult of personality. The ongoing national election must be understood in this context.

    explains how Prime Minister Narendra Modi has eroded democratic safeguards and stacked the deck in his favor.
  2. klee19_Gerhard JorenLightRocket via Getty Images_hyundaimanufacturing Gerhard Joren/LightRocket via Getty Images

    What Fiscally Sound Industrial Policy Can Do

    Keun Lee highlights three tools that can support domestic-market growth and development without breaking the bank.
  3. boskin94_Elijah NouvelageGetty Images_voting ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images

    Why Voters Are Unhappy About the Biden Economy

    Michael J. Boskin explains why Americans do not share the White House’s rosy assessment of its economic track record.
  4. ginsberg1_Tayfun CoskunAnadolu Agency via Getty Images_january6journalistviolence Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

    Our Freedoms Depend on Press Freedom

    Jodie Ginsberg warns that the increased targeting of journalists and the media is a key indicator of democratic erosion.
  5. balasegaram2_JOHN WESSELSAFP via Getty Images_africaflood John Wessels/AFP via Getty Images

    Climate Change Is a Worse Health Threat Than We Think

    Manica Balasegaram warns that the world is underestimating the extent to which global warming will fuel antimicrobial resistance.
  6. delong259_ChesnotGetty Images_musk Omar Marques/Getty Images

    Musk Has Made Tesla a Meme Stock

    J. Bradford DeLong worries that the first mover in electric vehicles is increasingly running on bucket-shop hype.
  7. buchholz15_Al Drago-PoolGetty Images_yellen Al Drago/Pool/Getty Images

    The US Treasury’s Bond Blunder Will Cost Gen Z Dearly

    Todd G. Buchholz & James Carter thinks the US should have locked in favorable borrowing rates when it had the chance.
  8. james217_ Christopher FurlongGetty Images_gold Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

    What’s Driving the Global Gold Rush?

    Harold James considers the political factors pushing the price of the “barbarous relic” to all-time highs.
  9. stiglitz333_ Chip SomodevillaGetty Images_bidentrump Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

    Global Elections in the Shadow of Neoliberalism

    Joseph E. Stiglitz

    While scandals, culture wars, and threats to democracy dominate the headlines, the biggest issues in this super election year ultimately concern economic policies. After all, the rise of anti-democratic populist authoritarianism is itself the legacy of a misbegotten economic ideology.

    considers what 40 years of anti-government, low-tax, deregulatory advocacy have wrought around the world.

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