Overview
Matthew Johnson is an Associate Professor at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University. His research seeks to understand how different regulations, policies and shifts in the labor market affect working conditions in the United States. Much of his current work focuses on the estimating the effects of health and safety regulations on firms and workers, and investigating what factors influence compliance with these regulations. He received his PhD in economics from Boston University, and his BA in economics and history from the University of California, Berkeley.
Here is a link to his CV. For a list of his published and ongoing papers, please visit his personal website.
Current Appointments & Affiliations
Bruce L. Payne Associate Professor of Public Policy
·
2025 - Present
Sanford School of Public Policy
Associate Professor in the Sanford School of Public Policy
·
2025 - Present
Sanford School of Public Policy
Assistant Professor of Economics
·
2019 - Present
Economics,
Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Recent Publications
The Labor Market Effects of Legal Restrictions on Worker Mobility
Journal Article Journal of Political Economy · September 1, 2025 We analyze how the legal enforceability of noncompete agreements (NCAs) affects labor markets. Using newly constructed panel data, we find that higher NCA enforceability diminishes workers’ earnings and job mobility, with larger effects among workers most ... Full text CiteTrade Competition and the Decline in Union Organizing: Evidence from Certification Elections
Journal Article Journal of Labor Economics · January 1, 2025 The long-term decline in US workers’ attempts to organize labor unions accelerated after 2000. We find that the swift rise of imports from China arising from a change in trade policy accounts for nearly all of this post-2000 acceleration: union certificati ... Full text CiteLEGAL PROTECTION AGAINST RETALIATORY FIRING IMPROVES WORKPLACE SAFETY
Journal Article Review of Economics and Statistics · September 6, 2024 —Workplace safety policies are designed to ensure that employers internalize the costs of injuries, but employers can undermine these policies with threats of dismissal. We show that states’ adoption of the public policy exception to at-will employment—an ... Full text CiteRecent Grants
Innovation and the Enforceability of Noncompete Agreements
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Alfred P. Sloan Foundation · 2023 - 2025Has the Changing Media Landscape Affected Labor Union Organizing? Evidence from Newspaper Closures
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Russell Sage Foundation · 2023 - 2025The Effect of Government Safety Enforcement on Workers: Evidence from Linked Employer-Employee Data
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Washington Center for Equitable Growth · 2021 - 2023View All Grants
Education, Training & Certifications
Boston University ·
2016
Ph.D.
University of California, Berkeley ·
2007
B.A.