Professor Mark Freeman
Professor of Finance Associate Dean of Faculty

Research

Overview

Mark’s research interests lie in addressing problems in financial economics that span many decades. Much of his recent research focuses on the appropriate choice of discount rates for use in intergenerational cost-benefit analysis.  His work is particularly associated with the literature on `declining discount rates’, the elicitation and reconciliation of expert opinions on intergenerational social discount rates, and the application of these findings for estimates of the Social Cost of Carbon.  His research in these areas has been published in leading journals in interdisciplinary sciences (Science, Nature Climate Change, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A, etc) and economics (American Economic Review, The Economic Journal, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, etc) as well as journals in accounting and finance. 

Mark’s research has been of interest to international policy makers, with him providing an impact case study for Loughborough University’s REF2021 submission.  He has co-authored reports commissioned in the UK by HM Treasury, the Financial Conduct Authority, the Office for National Statistics, and the Department for Transport.  Internationally, he has given input to the White House through the Office of Management & Budget and the Council of Economic Advisers concerning Federal cost-benefit analysis methods.  He has also given advice to the US Environmental Protection Agency on the application of these methods to estimating the social costs of greenhouse gas emissions, as well as to the Ministry of Finance (Netherlands), the International Seabed Authority, and the OECD.  His research has also been widely cited by a range of international bodies, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the EU Parliament.

Previously, Mark’s research focused on the long-run investment outlook for well-diversified portfolios.  His work in this area was funded by the Rotman International Centre for Pension Management and through the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.  He presented this work at the World Bank and provided related advice for the Financial Conduct Authority. 

Publications

Selected publications

Drupp, M.A., et al. (2024), “Accounting for the increasing benefits from scarce ecosystems”, Science, 383, 6687,1062-1064.

Nesje, F., M. Drupp, M.C. Freeman, and B. Groom (2023), “Philosophers and economists agree on climate policy paths but for different reasons”, Nature Climate Change, 13, 515-522.

Hänsel M.C. M.A. Drupp, D.J.A. Johansson, F. Nesje, C. Azar, M.C. Freeman, B. Groom and T. Sterner (2020), ”Climate economics support for the UN climate targets”.  Nature Climate Change, 10, 781–789.

Drupp, M.A., M.C. Freeman, B. Groom and F. Nesje (2018), “Discounting disentangled”, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy. 10(4), 109-134.

Freeman, M.C. and B. Groom (2015), “Positively gamma discounting:  Combining the opinions of experts on the Social Discount Rate”.  The Economic Journal, 125, 1015–1024.

Cropper, M.L., M.C. Freeman, B. Groom and W.A. Pizer (2014), “Declining discount rates”, American Economic Review (Papers and Proceedings), 104(5), 538–543.