Matthew Johnson
Faculty Affiliate of Journalism & Public Policy
Assistant Professor in the Sanford School of Public Policy

OFFICE
216 Rubenstein Hall
matthew.johnson@duke.edu
IN THE NEWS
- One Press Release on OSHA Violations Yields Compliance Equal to 210 Inspections. Sanford School of Public Policy (6/18/2020)
BIO
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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.
More info
GRANTS
- Innovation and the Enforceability of Noncompete Agreements (Principal Investigator), awarded by Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, 2023 - 2025 More info
- Has the Changing Media Landscape Affected Labor Union Organizing? Evidence from Newspaper Closures (Principal Investigator), awarded by Russell Sage Foundation, 2023 - 2025 More info
- The Effect of Government Safety Enforcement on Workers: Evidence from Linked Employer-Employee Data (Principal Investigator), awarded by Washington Center for Equitable Growth, 2021 - 2023 More info
- Do Noncompete Agreements Make Noncompetitive Labor Markets? (Principal Investigator), awarded by Russell Sage Foundation, 2019 - 2022 More info
PUBLICATIONS
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Johnson, M. S., D. Schwab, and P. Koval. “LEGAL PROTECTION AGAINST RETALIATORY FIRING IMPROVES WORKPLACE SAFETY.” Review of Economics and Statistics 106, no. 5 (September 6, 2024): 1236–53. https://doi.org/10.1162/rest_a_01225.More info
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Viswanathan, K., M. S. Johnson, and M. W. Toffel. “Do safety management system standards indicate safer operations? Evidence from the OHSAS 18001 occupational health and safety standard.” Safety Science 171 (March 1, 2024). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2023.106383.More info
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Johnson, M. S., D. I. Levine, and M. W. Toffel. “Improving Regulatory Effectiveness through Better Targeting: Evidence from OSHA.” American Economic Journal Applied Economics 15, no. 4 (January 1, 2023): 30–67. https://doi.org/10.1257/app.20200659.More info
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Charles, K. K., M. S. Johnson, M. Stephens, and D. Q. Lee. “Demand conditions and worker safety: Evidence from price shocks in mining.” Journal of Labor Economics 40, no. 1 (January 1, 2022): 47–94. https://doi.org/10.1086/713887.More info
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Johnson, M. S. “Regulation by shaming: Deterrence effects of publicizing violations of workplace safety and health laws.” American Economic Review 110, no. 6 (June 1, 2020): 1866–1904. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20180501.More info