Noel D. Johnson

Noel D. Johnson

I’m a 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.

Research

books

Here is a link to my CV.

You can purchase my book (written with Mark Koyama) here: Persecution & Toleration: The Long Road to Religious Freedom. Here is a short presentation of the book’s main ideas. Here is a more in-depth presentation.

Working Papers and Research in Progress

The Impact of the Black Death on the Adoption of the Printing Press
(Joint with Alexander Taylor and Andrew Thomas)
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The Great Revolt and Medical Mistrust in Colonial India: Evidence from the Smallpox Vaccination Campaign
(joint with Malik Altaf Hussain)

The Varieties of Printed Material in Europe between 1450 and 1650: A Title Embeddings Approach
(joint with Alexander Taylor)
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Taxes, National Identity, and Nation Building: Evidence from France
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The Black Death and Guild Survival
(joint with Eric Wilhelm and Mark Koyama)

The Black Death and State Formation
(joint with Mark Koyama)

Refereed Publications

Pandemics, Places, and Populations: The Effects of the Black Death on Urban Development
(joint with Remi Jedwab and Mark Koyama)
The Journal of Urban Economics, Forthcoming, 2023
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A Vox piece on the paper

The Effects of Historical Pandemics: The Black Death
(joint with Remi Jedwab and Mark Koyama)
The Journal of Economic Literature, 2022
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Replication Files

Medieval Cities Through the Lens of Urban Economic Theories
(joint with Remi Jedwab and Mark Koyama)
Regional Science and Urban Economics, Forthcoming, 2021
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The Effects of Land Redistribution: Evidence from the French Revolution
(joint with Theresa Finley and Raphaël Franck)
Journal of Law and Economics, Forthcoming, 2021
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Download the Online Appendix Download Presentation
A discussion of the paper on the Economics Detective podcast
An article about the paper on Quartz
A Vox piece on the paper
Replication Files

Negative Shocks and Mass Persecutions: Evidence from the Black Death
(joint with Remi Jedwab and Mark Koyama)
Journal of Economic Growth, Forthcoming, 2019
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Download Web Appendix
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Replication Files

States and Economic Growth: Capacity and Constraint
(joint with Mark Koyama)
Explorations in Economic History, 2017
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Jewish Communities and City Growth in Pre-industrial Europe
(joint with Mark Koyama)
Journal of Development Economics, 2017
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Replication Files

Jewish Persecutions and Weather Shocks: 1100-1800
(joint with Warren Anderson and Mark Koyama)
The Economic Journal, 2017
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Replication Files
A Vox piece on the paper
Coverage in The Economist

Can Public Policies Lower Religiosity? Evidence from School Choice in France, 1878-1902
(joint with Raphaël Franck)
The Economic History Review, 2016
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Data Sets

Taxes, Lawyers, and the Decline of Witch Trials in France
(joint with Mark Koyama)
Journal of Law & Economics, 2014
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Replication Files

Tax Farming and the Origins of State Capacity in England and France
(joint with Mark Koyama)
Explorations in Economic History, 2014
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Corruption, Regulation, and Growth: An Empirical Study of the United States
(joint with William Ruger, Jason Sorens, and Steven Yamarik)
Economics of Governance, 2014
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Replication Files

From Internal Taxes to National Regulation: Evidence from a French Wine Tax Reform at the turn of the Twentieth Century
(joint with Raphaël Franck, Noel D. Johnson, and John V.C. Nye)
Explorations in Economic History, 2014
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Legal Centralization and the Birth of the Secular State
(joint with Mark Koyama)
Journal of Comparative Economics, 2013
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How Much Should We Trust the World Values Survey Trust Question?
(joint with Alexandra A. Mislin)
Economics Letters, 2012
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Trust Games: A Meta-Analysis
(joint with Alexandra A. Mislin)
Journal of Economic Psychology, 2011
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Replication Files

Does Fortune Favor Dragons?
(joint with John V.C. Nye)
Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 2011
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Link to Freakonomics Podcast Discussing the Paper

Corruption is Bad for Growth (Even in the United States)
(joint with Courtney LaFountain and Steven Yamarik)
Public Choice, 2011
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Replication Files

War! What is It Good For?
(joint with Steven Yamarik and Ryan Compton)
BE Press: Peace Economics, Peace Science, and Public Policy, 2010
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Investing in Institutions
(joint with Ryan Compton and Daniel Giedeman)
Economics and Politics, 2010
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Fiscal Crisis and Institutional Change in the Ottoman Empire and France
(joint with Eliana Balla)
Journal of Economic History, 2009
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Banking on the King: The Evolution of The Royal Revenue Farms in Old Regime France
Journal of Economic History, 2006
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The Cost of Credibility: The Company of General Farms and Fiscal Stagnation in Eighteenth Century France
Essays in Economic and Business History, 2006
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Other Publications

The state, toleration, and religious freedom
(joint with Mark Koyama)
In Iyer, L., Rubin, J., and Carvalho, J.-P., editors, Advances in the Economics of Religion. Palgrave MacMillan, 2018
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Geospatial information systems
In Blum, M. and Colvin, C. L., editors, An Economist’s Guide to Economic History. Palgrave MacMillan, 2018
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Review of Vincent J. Pitts, ‘Embezzlement and High Treason in Louis XIV’s France: The Trial of Nicolas Fouquet’
EH.net Economic History Services, 2016
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Establishing a new order: The growth of the state and the decline of witch trials in France
(joint with Koyama, M. and Nye, J. V. C.)
In Greif, A., Kiesling, L., and Nye, J. V. C., editors, Institutions, Innovation, and Industrialization. Princeton University Press, 2015
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Review of Guy Rowlands, ‘The financial decline of a great power: War, influence, and money in Louis XIV’s France’
Journal of Economic History, 2014

Review of Jan Luiten Van Zanden, ‘The long road to the industrial revolution: The european economy in a global perspective, 1000-1800’
Journal of Economic History, 2012

Review of Mark Dincecco, ‘Political transformations and public finances: Europe, 1650-1913’
Journal of Economic History, 2012

Review of James Simpson, ‘creating wine: The emergence of a world industry, 1840-1914’
EH.net Economic History Services, 2012

Review of Jeff Horn, ‘The path not taken: French industrialization in the age of revolution’
EH.net Economic History Services, 2007

Banking on bureaucrats: The emergence of bureaucracy in old regime france
In Proceedings of the National Tax Association, 2003

Committing to civil service reform: The performance of pre-shipment inspection under differing institutional regimes
World Bank Policy Research Paper No. 2594, 2001
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