Bryan T. Johnson is a policy analyst in international economic affairs at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. He is the creator and co-author of the Index of Economic Freedom, a 500 page book on the world's economies published jointly by the Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal. Johnson is an expert on economic development, political science, industrial policy, taxation, budget, international trade, foreign aid, multilateral development banks, space policy and other economic and foreign policy issues. He has published six books and over 1,000 economic studies, magazine articles, and newspaper op-eds. He has been either published or quoted in such national print media as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, Forbes Magazine Business Week The Economist The Wall Street Jounral and many more.
Johnson has appeared as an expert on such major news networks as CNN and CNBC as well as been a guest on national and international radio programs. All told, Johnson has been interviewed on TV and radio over 500 times in the last fives years. He has testified before the U.S. Congress numerous times and supplied many briefs for members of Congress and their staff.
Johnson earned his BA in political science and economics at the University of Tampa in 1988. He has a MA in international business management is pending from the University of Maryland. After earning his BA, Johnson worked on the staff of Congressman Jim Courter (R-NJ). Later, he was hired as a economic researcher for Smick Medly International in Washington, D.C. and as an editorial assistance to the firm's magazine, The International Economy,/i>. In 1989, Johnson was hired as a research assistant at the Heritage Foundation. He was quickly promoted to policy analyst in 1990. For the next several years, Johnson helped established the groundwork for measuring the level of economic freedom in nations around the globe, fostered reform in the U.S. foreign aid program, helped defeat the U.S. steel quota system, as well as supplied numerous arguments and data demonstrating the benefits of free trade and the costs of protectionism.
In 1993, Bryan was hired as a Senior Editor and Writer at the Whalen Company, one of Washington's oldest and most established international economic consulting firms. During his tenure, he helped create media campaigns for such multinatinal corporations as Toyota Motor Company and Toshiba as well as author over 50 economic media advisories on the automobile industry and free trade.
In 1994, Johnson was hired back by The Heritage Foundation to established the methodology for the Index of Economic Freedom. Johnson's methodology, as well as his grades for over 80 countries, was first published by the Heritage Foundation in 1995. Since then, this annual book has gained much national and international recognition and now includes over 150 countries.
Johnson also has served in the United States Navy (Reserve) since 1992.