Matthew Forsstrom, Ph.D.

Biography

I am an applied microeconomist with research interests in health economics, labor economics, and demography. My research typically uses longitudinal data, econometric methods, and dynamic choice models to study the relationships between health and economic behaviors over a person’s lifetime. I teach courses in microeconomics, econometrics, and health economics.

Education

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Ph.D., Economics, 2017

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
M.S., Economics, 2015

Gordon College
B.A. Summa Cum Laude, Economics, 2011

Research Areas

• Health Economics
• Labor Economics
• Demography

Publications

Cronin, Christopher J., Matthew P. Forsstrom and Nicholas W. Papageorge (2025) “What Good are Treatment Effects Without Treatment? Mental Health and the Reluctance to Use Talk Therapy.” Review of Economic Studies 92 (3): 1699-1737. (published online May 30, 2024)

Forsstrom, Matthew P. (2022) “The Epidemic of Despair and Infant Mortality: A Research Note.” Demography 59 (1): 51-59.

Forsstrom, Matthew P. (2021) “Abortion Costs and Single Parenthood: A Life-Cycle Model of Fertility and Partnership Behavior.” Labour Economics 69.

Book Reviews

Review of Streets of Gold by Ran Abramitzky and Leah Boustan. Faith & Economics, 80: 103-107 (Fall 2022).

Review of Pricing Lives by W. Kip Viscusi. Faith & Economics, 78: 106-110 (Fall 2021).

Review of Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism by Anne Case and Angus Deaton. Faith & Economics, 76: 216-220 (Fall 2020).

Research Presentations

AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting (poster), Baltimore MD, June 2024

Joint SOLE/Midwest Economics Association sessions, Minneapolis MN, Mar 2022

Wheaton Philosophy, Politics, & Economics Colloquium, Wheaton IL, Jan 2022

Western Economic Association International Annual Meeting, Virtual, June 2021

International Health Economics Association World Congress, Basel, Switzerland, July 2019

American Economic Association Annual Meeting (ASSA), Atlanta GA, Jan 2019

Midwest Economics Association Annual Meeting, Evanston IL, Mar 2018

Wheaton Center for Faith, Politics, and Economics, Feb 2018

RTI International, Public Health Economics Program, Durham NC, Feb 2017

FDIC Center for Financial Research, Washington DC, Dec 2016

Southern Economic Association Annual Meeting, Washington DC, Nov 2016

Duke University, Labor and Development Seminar Series, Department of Economics, Oct 2016

Southeastern Health Economics Study Group (SHESG), Richmond VA, Oct 2016

Annual Health Econometrics Workshop (AHEW), Denver CO, Sep 2016

Awards and Fellowships

Alumni Junior Faculty Development Grant, Alumni Board of Wheaton College, 2019–2020

Opus Vocation Scholar, Opus: The Art of Work, 2018–2019

Dissertation Completion Fellowship, Graduate School, UNC, 2016–2017

Transportation Grant, Graduate School, UNC, 2016

Georges Lurcy Fellowship in Economics, Graduate School, UNC, 2015

Thomas F. Ferdinand Summer Research Fellowship, Graduate School, UNC, 2015

Best TA for a Graduate Course Award, Department of Economics, UNC, 2014–2015

Kampf Award, Department of Economics, UNC, 2013

Phi Alpha Chi Honor Society, Gordon College, 2011

Dean’s Scholar, Gordon College, 2007–2011