Matthew Birchall is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Laureate Centre for History & Population. His work concerns the economic and intellectual history of colonisation in Australia and New Zealand, with a particular focus on chartered companies. In 2022, he received his PhD from the University of Cambridge and was awarded the Royal Historical Society's Alexander Prize for best scholarly article based upon original research. 

At the Laureate Centre, Matthew is writing a series of articles examining the relationship between population and colonisation in classical political economy. He is also working with Dr Leo Chu on Wastelands in Modern World History, examining how ideas of empty space have shaped global history from the sixteenth century onwards. 

Prior to joining the Laureate Centre, Matthew was a Senior Fellow at The New Zealand Initiative, the country's leading think tank, where he brought historical perspectives to contemporary policy debates.