Matthew Naven

I am a Senior Economist in the Center for Economics within the Applied Research and Methods team of the Government Accountability Office. Before joining the GAO, I was an assistant professor for four years in the department of economics at Washington and Lee University. I graduated with a PhD in economics from the University of California, Davis in 2019. My primary research interests are the economics of education, public economics, and labor economics. My research focuses on the effects of institutions, public policies, and external forces on student outcomes. I'm particularly interested in education as a pathway out of poverty. I'm also interested in pedagogical research, curriculum design, and policies to improve education in the classroom in order to maximize student learning, open inquiry, and constructive debate.

I grew up in Omaha, Nebraska before completing bachelor's degrees in economics and Spanish at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. In my free time I enjoy music, sports, camping, Iowa State football, and Xavier basketball.