Richard B. Freeman

Richard B. Freeman is the Herbert Ascherman Chair in Economics at Harvard University and a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). He currently serves as Faculty co-Director of the Center for Labor and a Just Economy at Harvard Law School. His research focuses on labor markets, technological impact on employment, Chinese and Korean labor dynamics, employee ownership, and economic growth. Freeman is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the AAAS, with notable awards including the IZA Prize in Labor Economics (2007) and the Distinguished Fellow of the American Economic Association (2016).

His work spans empirical studies on global labor markets, the effects of AI/robots, and policy analysis of employee voice mechanisms. Recent research includes examining team incentives in low-skill labor and the role of data in nonbalanced economic growth. Freeman has advised international organizations and government bodies, including panels of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. He co-edits the Journal of Participation and Employee Ownership and has authored influential books such as The Citizen’s Share and Shared Capitalism at Work.

• Education: Advanced degrees in Economics (details not explicitly provided in texts)
• Key Roles:
  • Faculty Co-Director, Harvard Law School’s Center for Labor and a Just Economy
  • Member, AAAS Initiative for Science and Technology
  • Advisory roles on 12+ NAS panels, including those on Science Workforce and Nuclear Chemistry
• Labs/Teams: Leads projects on China Air Filtration, Innovation Dynamics, and Employee Ownership at NBER and Harvard.

His awards reflect recognition for pioneering contributions to labor economics, policy analysis, and global workforce studies.