Jim Freedman

Jim Freedman has degrees from Johns Hopkins University in International Politics and Economics (B.A) and Anthropology from Princeton University (Ph.D). He taught development studies in the department of Anthropology at the University of Western Ontario in Canada between 1972 and 1998 and at the same time established a consulting firm which originally designed and conducted large scale surveys to better understand the impacts of large agricultural projects in developing countries. After serving as an analyst in the Oil for Food Program with the United Nations, he served on Expert Panels advising the Security Council on measures to restore stability to Iraq and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Recent policy research has addressed the issues of conflict reduction, pro-poor growth and good governance in a variety of countries. As the role of business in these matters has grown, he has turned his attention to ways that enterprises can fulfill their obligations in contributing to political stability and poverty reduction. He has authored, co-authored or edited 13 books and published over 40 articles and essays.