Matthew A. Kraft

Image of Matthew Kraft

Matthew A. Kraft is an American economist of education, educator, and researcher. He is currently a Professor of Education and Economics[1] at Brown University, a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and a Research Fellow with IZA – Institute of Labor Economics.[2] His primary work focuses on efforts to improve educator and organizational effectiveness in U.S. public schools. Kraft also is also the Founder and Faculty Director of SustainableED, an initiative at Brown University focused on advancing research at the intersection of education systems and climate change.[3] From July 2024 to July 2025, he was appointed by the Biden administration to serve as a senior economist at the White House Council of Economic Advisers.[4][5]

Biography

Between 1999 and 2003, Kraft attended Stanford University where he majored in International Relations with a concentration in Political Economy and earned a master's degree in International Comparative Education. In 2005, Kraft taught 8th grade English as a long-term substitute teacher at Urban Promise Academy in the Oakland Unified School District, where he conducted field work for his master's thesis.[6] He earned teaching credentials in English and history from Alliant International University and taught 9th grade humanities at Berkeley High School in California from 2005 to 2008. He served as a school representative with the Berkeley Teachers' Unions leadership committee for two years.

After working as a high school teacher, Kraft pursued an Ed. D. in Quantitative Policy Analysis in Education with a concentration in the Economics of Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. In 2013, he joined the Department of Education at Brown University as an assistant professor. He was a visiting professor at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid in the spring of 2023.[7]

Currently, Kraft is a Professor of Education and Economics at Brown University, as well as a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, a Research Fellow at IZA – Institute of Labor Economics, a Fellow at the CESifo Research Network, and Senior Fellow at the Esade Center for Economic Policy[8] in Madrid, Spain.

Professional Achievements

Kraft’s scholarship examines efforts to improve teacher hiring, professional development, evaluation, and working conditions; the application of new approaches for interpreting effect sizes; and the development of school-based tutoring and mentoring programs in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.[9]

He has published over 50 academic articles in leading education, public policy, and economics journals which have been cited over 16,000 times. Kraft is regularly quoted in national news outlets and is consistently ranked among the top 200 scholars on the Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings.[10]

He is the recipient of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Outstanding Public Communication Award[11], the Society for Educational Effectiveness Early Career Award[12], the William T. Grant Early Career Scholar Award[13], the Brown University Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, the Palmer O. Johnson Memorial Award[14] for the most outstanding article across the seven flagship AERA journals, and the National Academy of Education/Spencer Dissertation Fellowship[15].

References

  1. ^ "Brown Education Department Announces Faculty Promotions | Education | Brown University". education.brown.edu. Retrieved 2025-07-30.
  2. ^ "Matthew A. Kraft". Matthew A. Kraft. Retrieved 2025-08-17.
  3. ^ "SustainableED - Sustainable Education Research Initiative | Annenberg Institute at Brown". annenberg.brown.edu. Retrieved 2025-07-30.
  4. ^ "Brown economist, education scholar appointed to White House Council of Economic Advisers | Brown University". www.brown.edu. 2024-08-22. Retrieved 2024-09-30.
  5. ^ "Alum Named to White House Council of Economic Advisers | Harvard Graduate School of Education". www.gse.harvard.edu. 2024-08-20. Retrieved 2025-07-30.
  6. ^ Kraft, Matthew (April 2007). "Toward a School-Wide Model of Teaching for Social Justice: An Examination of the Best Practices of Two Small Public Schools". Equity & Excellence in Education. 40 (1): 77–86. doi:10.1080/10665680601076601. ISSN 1066-5684.
  7. ^ "CV". scholar.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2023-10-06.
  8. ^ "About us". Center for Economic Policy - EsadeEcPol. Retrieved 2025-08-17.
  9. ^ "Research | Matthew A. Kraft". scholar.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  10. ^ "Media Coverage". scholar.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  11. ^ "Outstanding Public Communication of Education Research Award". www.aera.net. Retrieved 2025-08-17.
  12. ^ "2021 Early Career Recipients Announcement". www.sree.org. Retrieved 2025-08-17.
  13. ^ "Teacher Effects on Students' Non-Cognitive Competencies: A Study of Impacts, Instruction, and Improvement". William T. Grant Foundation. Retrieved 2025-08-17.
  14. ^ "Palmer O. Johnson Memorial Award". www.aera.net. Retrieved 2025-08-17.
  15. ^ "Matthew Kraft". National Academy of Education. Retrieved 2025-08-17.


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