Rucker Johnson facts for kids

Rucker C. Johnson is an American economist. He is a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, where he teaches about public policy. He also works with important research groups like the National Bureau of Economic Research. These groups study big issues like poverty and how our economy works.

Professor Johnson is a respected member of several important groups. These include the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Education.

In 2017, he won the Andrew Carnegie Fellowship. He also received the 2022 University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award in Education. This award was for his 2019 book, "Children of the Dream: Why School Integration Works." He wrote this book with Alexander Nazaryan.

Early Life and Education

Rucker C. Johnson is one of three children. His mother, Carol R. Johnson, was a school superintendent in cities like Boston. His father, Matthew Johnson, was a history teacher.

Professor Johnson went to Morehouse College and graduated in 1995. He then earned his master's and PhD degrees in economics. He completed these at the University of Michigan in 2002.

What Professor Johnson Studies

Professor Johnson's research looks at differences in education and money. He studies why these differences happen and what their effects are.

School Integration and Its Impact

In his book, "Children of the Dream: Why School Integration Works," he shares important ideas. He explains that when schools became integrated, it helped Black students a lot. It improved their grades and their lives after school.

However, he points out that real school integration in the United States did not last very long. It was mainly strong for about 10 to 15 years in the 1970s and 1980s.

How School Funding Helps Students

Professor Johnson also studied how more money for schools can help. Working with other researchers, he found that when schools received more funding, students benefited. This extra money helped students graduate from high school. It also helped them finish college and earn more money as adults.

Other Research Areas

He has also looked into the costs and benefits of people being in prison. He found that as more people were put in prison, it did not reduce crime as much as expected.

Selected Books and Papers

• Johnson, Rucker C. Children of the Dream: Why School Integration Works. Hachette UK, 2019.
• Jackson, C. Kirabo, Rucker C. Johnson, and Claudia Persico. "The Effects of School Spending on Educational and Economic Outcomes: Evidence from School Finance Reforms." The Quarterly Journal of Economics 131, no. 1 (2016): 157-218.
• Johnson, Rucker C., and C. Kirabo Jackson. "Reducing inequality through dynamic complementarity: Evidence from Head Start and public school spending." American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 11, no. 4 (2019): 310-49.
• Johnson, Rucker C., and Robert F. Schoeni. "Early-life origins of adult disease: national longitudinal population-based study of the United States." American journal of public health 101, no. 12 (2011): 2317-2324.