Marc Cowling

Professor Marc Cowling is a Professor of Economics and Productivity at Oxford Brookes Business School. He leads a large ESRC-funded project investigating finance barriers and productivity growth in small businesses, managing research teams across seven UK institutions. His roles include supporting early-career researchers, overseeing grant reviews, and advising PGR students. He is Principal Investigator on projects evaluating SME financing and public policy, with international collaborations in Denmark, Sweden, and Australia.

His research focuses on SME financing, entrepreneurship, labour markets, and policy evaluation, with 100+ peer-reviewed articles and three books. He ranks in the top 6% of global economists by citations (REPEC) and top 2% of researchers globally (Stanford University). Awards include evaluations for UK government bodies (BEIS, HMRC) and EU agencies.

Research highlights include analyzing regional financial disparities, pandemic loan schemes, and innovation strategies. He advises on SME resilience post-pandemic and collaborates with the UK Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy. His work emphasizes empirical research with real-world policy impact.

• Awards: Top 6% economist (REPEC, 2022), Top 2% global researcher (Stanford, 2022)
• Grants: £268,562 ESRC grant (2022–2025), BEIS/Innovate UK collaborations
• Labs: Oxford Regions, Innovation & Enterprise Lab