NOT FUNNY WRITING

Here you will find an assortment of my published serious (“serious”) writing.

Reportage, Analysis, and Argument

Power Moves: Politics and Culture in the CCP
Frieze (Mar 2021 issue)

Why Beijing is Bringing Big Tech to Heel
Foreign Affairs (Feb 2021)

Illiberal China
Los Angeles Review of Books China Channel (Sept 2019)

The Great Socialist Bake Off
Jacobin (Sept 2019)

The Sincere Indignation of Simon Leys
Los Angeles Review of Books China Channel (March 2018)

Breakfast in Guangzhou: Dim sum
Roads and Kingdoms (August 2017)

Breakfast in Meitan, Guizhou: Youcha tang
Roads and Kingdoms (July 2017)

China’s Whack-a-Mole Housing Boom
CityLab/The Atlantic (July 2017)

The End of Poverty in China: A Tale of Two Villages
World Policy Journal (Summer 2017 issue; paywalled)

Breakfast in Beijing: Jidan guan bing
Roads and Kingdoms (June 2017)

Counter-Urbanization
Pacific Standard (April 2017)

Once in Poverty, China’s Taobao Villages Have Found a Lifeline
Quartz (February 2017)

Chongqing’s Number One Noodle Obsessive
Roads and Kingdoms (December 2016)

Higher Red
Washington Monthly (November 2016 issue)

Donald Trump and the Heads-I-Win-Tails-You-Lose Strategy
(September 23, 2016)

China’s Charitable Turn
Foreign Affairs (July 28, 2016)

Why is the Pollution So Bad in Beijing?
Priceonomics (Jan 4, 2016)

China Takes Federalism Further Than the US, and the Safety Net is Paying the Price
Vox (Aug 31, 2015)

Big Whopper Economics
Washington Monthly (March 2014 issue)

The Past and Future of America’s Social Contract
The Atlantic (Dec 19, 2013)

Moving Past the Low-Wage Social Contract
Reuters (Sept 11, 2013)

How Not to Help the Poor: The Lesson of Soaring College Prices
The Atlantic (Jul 10, 2013)

Why American Colleges Are Becoming a Force for Inequality
The Atlantic (May 16, 2013)

Big Business Isn’t Investing in People Anymore, So Big Government Has To
Quartz (May 7, 2013)

Expand Social Security to Cover Larger Portion of Retirement Needs
Sacramento Bee (Apr 10, 2013)

Social Security as Solution, Not Problem
Reuters (Apr 3, 2013)

The Tax-Break Myth: They’re Not Really For the Middle Class
The Atlantic (Nov 8, 2012)

U.S. Leaves Working Families in the Lurch
CNN.com (Sep 27, 2012)

Forbes

Josh Freedman, contributor on economics and higher education

Papers and Reports

China’s Pension Paradoxes: Challenges to Creating an Equitable and Stable Pension Scheme
China: An International Journal (August 2016, peer-reviewed)

Paying for Greying: Re-evaluating China’s Pension System
China Policy (June 1, 2016)

America’s Debt Problem: How Private Debt is Holding Back Growth and Hurting the Middle Class
New America Foundation (co-author) (Sept 11, 2014)

Pay More, Get Less
New America Foundation (April 30, 2014)

Beyond the Low Wage Social Contract
New America Foundation (co-author) (Sept 11, 2013)

Renewing the American Social Contract: A New Vision for Improving Economic Security
New America Foundation (co-editor) (Apr 29, 2013)

Expanded Social Security
New America Foundation (co-author) (Apr 3, 2013)

Value Added: America’s Manufacturing Future
New America Foundation (co-author) (Apr 18, 2012)

Authenticity in America: Class Distinctions in Potato Chip Advertising
Gastronomica (co-author) (Winter 2011, peer-reviewed)

Raising the Bar: Understanding and Assessing A-G College Readiness Requirements As High School Graduation Standards
Stanford University and Silicon Valley Education Foundation (co-author) (April 2011)