Noel D Johnson

Professor

My research interests include: The historical origins of modern liberal institutions. The relationship between state capacity and economic growth. The impact of environmental shocks on institutional change and economic outcomes. Applied Econometrics with a particular emphasis on spatial data. Identification and Causality.

I’m an Associate Professor of Economics at George Mason University. I’m also a Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center, a faculty member at the Center for the Study of Public Choice, and an Affiliate Member of the CESifo Research Network.

Selected Publications

2016 Franck, R. and Johnson, N. D. (2016). Can public policies lower religiosity? Evidence from school choice in France, 1878-1902. The Economic History Review.

2016 Anderson, R. W., Johnson, N. D., and Koyama, M. (2016). Jewish persecutions and weather shocks: 1100-1800. The Economic Journal.

2015 Johnson, N. D., Koyama, M., and Nye, J. V. C. (2015). Establishing a new order: The growth of the state and the decline of witch trials in France. In Greif, A., Kiesling, L., and Nye, J. V. C., editors, Institutions, Innovation, and Industrialization, Princeton University Press

2014 Johnson, N. D. and Koyama, M. (2014b). Taxes, lawyers, and the decline of witch trials in France. Journal of Law & Economics, 57(1)

2014 Johnson, N. D. and Koyama, M. (2014a). Tax farming and the origins of state capacity in England and France. Explorations in Economic History, 51:1-20 (Lead Article)

2014 Johnson, N. D., Ruger, W., Sorens, J., and Yamarik, S. (2014). Corruption, regulation, and growth: An empirical study of the United States. Economics of Governance, 15(1):51-69

2014 Franck, R., Johnson, N. D., and Nye, J. V. C. (2014). From internal taxes to national regulation: Evidence from a French wine tax reform at the turn of the twentieth century. Explorations in Economic History, 51:77-93

2013 Johnson, N. D. and Koyama, M. (2013). Legal centralization and the birth of the secular state. Journal of Comparative Economics, 41(4):959-978 (Lead Article)

2012 Johnson, N. D. and Mislin, A. (2012). How much should we trust the world values survey trust question? Economics Letters, 116:110-112

2011 Johnson, N. D. and Mislin, A. (2011). Trust games: A meta-analysis. Journal of Economic Psychology, 32:865-889

2011 Johnson, N. D. and Nye, J. V. C. (2011). Does fortune favor dragons? Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 78(1-2)

2011 Johnson, N. D., Lafountain, C. L., and Yamarik, S. (2011). Corruption is bad for growth (even in the United States). Public Choice, 147(3-4):377-393

Dissertations Supervised

Preston Cooper, The Role of Human Capital in Economic Development (2023)

Anne K. Blas, Industrial Organization of General Stores in Three Southern States After Emancipation (2022)

Andrew Thomas, Three Essays in Empirical Historical Economics (2022)

Gregory Golino, Three Essays on Anglo-American Labor Reform (2020)

Justin Moore, Three Essays on the Impact of Prolonged Warfare in Twentieth Century France (2019)