معرفی
John Matsusaka serves as Professor of Business, Law and Political Science at the University of Southern California's Gould School of Law. He holds a joint appointment across multiple disciplines and serves as Executive Director of the Initiative and Referendum Institute at USC, where he studies ballot measures nationwide.
His educational background includes a degree from the University of Washington and MA/PhD from the University of Chicago. Professional appointments include National Fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution, John M. Olin Professor at Chicago's Stigler Center, and visiting positions at UCLA and Caltech.
Matsusaka's research focuses on direct democracy mechanisms, particularly initiatives and referendums, with significant contributions to understanding their impact on public policy, budgeting, and electoral systems. His work bridges political science, economics, and law, examining how citizen-driven legislation affects governance. Additional expertise spans corporate finance topics including mergers and acquisitions, corporate diversification, and capital budgeting procedures.
Analysis of his publications reveals consistent focus on empirical analysis of democratic institutions, with methodological strengths in quantitative political economy. His work demonstrates how direct democracy instruments reshape policy landscapes, particularly in state-level fiscal governance and electoral administration.
Award highlights include:
- Merton Miller Prize for most significant Journal of Business paper (2001)
- Thompson Scientific Selected Emerging Research Front paper (2006)
As Executive Director of the Initiative and Referendum Institute, Matsusaka leads comprehensive tracking of ballot measures across the United States. His public commentary in outlets like the Sacramento Bee and Los Angeles Times focuses on state budget crises and fiscal accountability. His influential book For the Many or the Few: The Initiative, Public Policy, and American Democracy (2004) remains a foundational text in the field.
The Initiative and Referendum Institute serves as his primary research hub, coordinating national studies of direct democracy processes while maintaining connections with policymakers and election administrators nationwide.
