skip to main content
Jonathan Rothwell, Ph.D.

Jonathan Rothwell, Ph.D.

Principal Economist
Washington, D.C.

About Jonathan

Jonathan Rothwell is a principal economist at Gallup. He advises clients and associates on the strategic and technical issues related to social science research, publishing and data collection, particularly as they pertain to some of the world's biggest challenges.

Jonathan advises on major research and analysis initiatives for Gallup clients, primarily in the areas of macroeconomics, entrepreneurship, labor economics, race relationships and higher education. He served as the primary researcher for the Bureau of Labor Statistics' AI in the Workplace project, which launched a study to understand the impacts of technology on employment. He led the questionnaire development, research and publishing for job quality studies funded by Gates Foundation, Lumina Foundation and Omidyar Network. Additionally, Jonathan developed ways to assess the quality and effects of news consumption for Knight Foundation and analyzed the causes of long-term economic growth for the U.S. Council on Competitiveness. His other projects include developing a way to assess the quality of management and business leadership practices, creating methods to evaluate the quality of colleges based on alumni experiences, and studying the quality of parent-child relationships and how they relate to youth mental health.

Alongside client work, Jonathan researches and writes on a broad range of topics in academic and popular publications. In 2019, he published a book with Princeton University Press on the fundamental causes of income inequality called A Republic of Equals: A Manifesto for a Just Society. He frequently contributes analysis to The New York Times' Upshot column and opinion pieces and essays to a variety of other high-profile outlets. He has written several scholarly articles on the health, political and economic aspects of COVID-19.

Jonathan's areas of expertise include higher education, labor economics, economic growth, trade, innovation, social and economic inequality, voting behavior, and urban economic development. He is a visiting scholar at the George Washington University Public Policy Institute and a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution's Metropolitan Policy Program.

In the media
The New York Times In the most egalitarian countries, poor and less educated adults were more protected from job losses.
The New York Times The best of TV can be enriching and enlightening, but research suggests we should be cautious about what we give up for the sake of entertainment.
The Independent Those who were laid off because of the pandemic and rehired experienced a drop in job satisfaction according to data from Gallup's Great Job Survey.
C-SPAN Jonathan Rothwell discusses a recent joint report by Gallup and the U.S. Council on Competitiveness.
Areas of Expertise

Economics, Higher Education, Labor Economics

Latest

Economy

Employing Others Is Linked to Wealth and Wellbeing

Wellbeing

Married Americans Thriving at Higher Rates Than Unmarried Adults

Social & Policy Issues

The Quality of Parent-Child Relationships in U.S. Families

Wellbeing

Parenting Mitigates Social Media-Linked Mental Health Issues

Wellbeing

Teens Spend Average of 4.8 Hours on Social Media Per Day

World

Digital Workers Find Higher Pay, Job Satisfaction, Security