John Matsusaka

John Matsusaka is a professor at the University of Southern California. An economist by training, he works on topics related to political economy, direct democracy, corporate finance, and corporate governance. Matsusaka is the author of two books, For the Many or the Few (2004) and the Let the People Rule (2020), and has published scholarly articles in leading journals in economics, finance, law, and political science. His article, “Corporate Diversification, Value Maximization, and Organizational Capabilities,” was awarded the Merton Miller Prize for most significant paper by the Journal of Business; and his article "Ballot Order Effects in Direct Democracy Elections" received the Duncan Black Prize for best paper in Public Choice.

Matsusaka has been interviewed by and provided commentary to numerous media outlets including CNN, Fox News, CNBC, NPR, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, Christian Science Monitor, and Los Angeles Times; and has contributed opinion pieces to the Los Angeles Times, Sacramento Bee, and Huffington Post.

Matsusaka has been on the board of the Initiative & Referendum Institute, a prominent educational organization devoted to the study of direct democracy, since 1998, and has served as its president/executive director since 2004. He has held visiting appointments at Stanford University (Hoover Institution National Fellow), UCLA, Caltech, and the University of Chicago (John M. Olin Visiting Professor of Economics), and served as a consultant for the White House Council of Economic Advisors.

Matsusaka has held a variety of administrative positions at USC including vice provost for faculty and academic affairs, vice dean of the Marshall School of Business, and chair of the university’s promotion and tenure committee. His primary appointment is in the Department of Finance and Business Ecconomics in the Marshall School of Business, with secondary appointments in the Gould School of Law and Department of Political Science.

Matsusaka received his B.A. in economics from the University Washington, and his MA and PhD in economics from the University of Chicago.