Overview
Matthew Johnson is an Assistant 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
Assistant Professor in the Sanford School of Public Policy
·
2019 - Present
Sanford School of Public Policy
Assistant Professor of Economics
·
2019 - Present
Economics,
Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Recent Publications
LEGAL 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 CiteDo safety management system standards indicate safer operations? Evidence from the OHSAS 18001 occupational health and safety standard
Journal Article Safety Science · March 1, 2024 Problem definition: Given the enormous disruptions and costs of occupational injuries, companies and buyers are increasingly looking to voluntary occupational health and safety standards to improve worker safety. Yet because these standards only require im ... Full text CiteImproving Regulatory Effectiveness through Better Targeting: Evidence from OSHA
Journal Article American Economic Journal: Applied Economics · January 1, 2023 We study how a regulator can best target inspections. Our case study is a US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) program that randomly allocated some inspections. On average, each inspection led to 2.4 (9 percent) fewer serious injuries ov ... 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.