Matthew J. Wiswall

Professor of Economics New York University Faculty Research Associate, National Bureau of Economic Research

Matthew Wiswall

Matthew Wiswall is Professor of Economics at New York University. Professor Wiswall is an applied microeconomist who conducts research on child development, education, and applied econometric methodologies. His research has been funded by the US National Science Foundation, US Department of Education, William T. Grant Foundation, and the Smith Richardson Foundation, published in leading journals including the Journal of Political Economy, Review of Economic Studies, and Quarterly Journal of Economics, and cited in several media outlets including the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. He is a Faculty Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economics, and previously an Associate Editor of Econometrica and Quantitative Economics. Professor Wiswall received his PhD in economics from the University of California-Los Angeles in 2005, and previously held faculty positions at Arizona State University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he was Professor of Economics and the David Edwin and Lucille Hartmann Davies Chair, and Johns Hopkins University where he was the Steven M. Kaye Professor of Economics.

Research

Peer-reviewed published articles

  1. Parenting with Patience: Parental Incentives and Child Development

    with Daniela Del Boca, Christopher J. Flinn, and Ewout Verriest · Journal of Political Economy 134 (1), 2026, pp. 210–284

  2. Home and School in the Development of Children

    with Francesco Agostinelli and Morteza Saharkhiz · International Economic Review 66 (2), 2025, pp. 527–566

  3. Estimating the Technology of Children’s Skill Formation

    with Francesco Agostinelli · Journal of Political Economy 133 (3), 2025, pp. 846–887

  4. The Impacts of Same and Opposite Gender Alumni Speakers on Interest in Economics

    with Arpita Patnaik, Gwyn C. Pauley, and Joanna Venator · Economics of Education Review 102, 2024, article 102579

    Media Marginal Revolution, VoxEU

  5. The Role of Heterogeneous Risk Preferences, Discount Rates, and Earnings Expectations in College Major Choice

    with Arpita Patnaik, Joanna Venator, and Basit Zafar · Journal of Econometrics 231 (1), 2022, pp. 98–122

  6. Inequality in Early Care Experienced by U.S. Children

    with Sarah Flood, Joel F.S. McMurry, and Aaron Sojourner · Journal of Economic Perspectives 36 (2), 2022, pp. 199–222

    Media New York Times, AEA Research Highlights, NBER Reporter

    Policy Economic Report of the President (2023), U.S. Senate Banking Committee testimony (2023)

  7. Human Capital Investments and Expectations about Career and Family

    with Basit Zafar · Journal of Political Economy 129 (5), 2021, pp. 1361–1424

    Media VoxEU

  8. Making Summer Matter: The Impact of Youth Employment on Academic Performance

    with Amy Ellen Schwartz, Jacob Leos-Urbel, and Joel McMurry · Quantitative Economics 12 (2), 2021, pp. 477–504

    Media Politico Magazine, Brookings

  9. Child Care and Child Care Policy: Existing Policies, Their Effects, and Reforms

    with V. Joseph Hotz · The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 686 (1), 2019, pp. 310–338

    Media Washington Center for Equitable Growth

  10. Preference for the Workplace, Investment in Human Capital, and Gender

    with Basit Zafar · Quarterly Journal of Economics 133 (1), 2018, pp. 457–507

    Media The Atlantic, Chicago Booth Review, AEI, VoxEU

  11. Preferences and Biases in Educational Choices and Labour Market Expectations: Shrinking the Black Box of Gender

    with Ernesto Reuben and Basit Zafar · Economic Journal 127 (604), 2017, pp. 2153–2186

    Media VoxEU

  12. Beyond LATE with a Discrete Instrument: Heterogeneity in the Quantity–Quality Interaction of Children

    with Christian Brinch and Magne Mogstad · Journal of Political Economy 125 (4), 2017, pp. 985–1039

  13. Transfers to Households with Children and Child Development

    with Daniela Del Boca and Christopher Flinn · Economic Journal 126 (596), 2016, pp. F136–F183

  14. Testing the Quantity–Quality Model of Fertility: Estimation Using Unrestricted Family Size Models

    with Magne Mogstad · Quantitative Economics 7 (1), 2016, pp. 157–192

  15. Are All Schools Created Equal? Learning Environments in Small and Large Public High Schools in New York City

    with Amy Ellen Schwartz and Leanna Stiefel · Economics of Education Review 52, 2016, pp. 272–290

  16. Does Small High School Reform Lift Urban School Districts? Evidence from New York City

    with Amy Ellen Schwartz and Leanna Stiefel · Educational Researcher 44 (3), 2015, pp. 161–172

    Media U.S. News & World Report / Hechinger Report, The Society Pages

  17. How Do College Students Respond to Public Information about Earnings?

    with Basit Zafar · Journal of Human Capital 9 (2), 2015, pp. 117–169

    Media Washington Post, VoxEU (2017), VoxEU (2022)

  18. Determinants of College Major Choice: Identification Using an Information Experiment

    with Basit Zafar · Review of Economic Studies 82 (2), 2015, pp. 791–824

    Media Wall Street Journal, VoxEU (2017), VoxEU (2022)

  19. Household Choices and Child Development

    with Daniela Del Boca and Christopher Flinn · Review of Economic Studies 81 (1), 2014, pp. 137–185

    Media Population Europe

  20. Evolution of Gender Differences in Post-Secondary Human Capital Investments: College Majors

    with Ahu Gemici · International Economic Review 55 (1), 2014, pp. 23–56

  21. Does Attending a STEM High School Improve Student Performance? Evidence from New York City

    with Amy Ellen Schwartz, Leanna Stiefel, and Jessica Boccardo · Economics of Education Review 40, 2014, pp. 93–105

    Media ASCD Educational Leadership

    Policy U.S. Department of Labor CLEAR evidence review

  22. Do Small Schools Improve Performance in Large, Urban Districts? Causal Evidence from New York City

    with Amy Ellen Schwartz and Leanna Stiefel · Journal of Urban Economics 77, 2013, pp. 27–40

  23. The Dynamics of Teacher Quality

    Journal of Public Economics 100, 2013, pp. 61–78

    Media Freakonomics, Albert Shanker Institute, Thomas B. Fordham Institute, National Institute of Teaching (UK)

  24. What Linear Estimators Miss: The Effects of Family Income on Child Outcomes

    with Katrine V. Løken and Magne Mogstad · American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 4 (2), 2012, pp. 1–35

    Policy Statistics Norway report on child poverty (2026)

  25. Instrumental Variables Estimation with Partially Missing Instruments

    with Magne Mogstad · Economics Letters 114 (2), 2012, pp. 186–189

  26. Risk Aversion and Support for Merit Pay: Theory and Evidence from Minnesota’s Q Comp Program

    with Carl Nadler · Education Finance and Policy 6 (1), 2011, pp. 75–104

  27. Before and After: Gender Transitions, Human Capital, and Workplace Experiences

    with Kristen Schilt · B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy 8 (1), 2008

    Media Time, New York Times, Harvard Business Review, Associated Press, HuffPost, Center for American Progress, Maclean’s, National Women’s Law Center, IZA World of Labor

  28. A Parallel Implementation of the Simplex Function Minimization Routine

    with Donghoon Lee · Computational Economics 30 (2), 2007, pp. 171–187

Research

Working papers

Research

Book chapters

Research

Policy briefs and short pieces