His research broadly focuses on labor and health economics. He studies the causes and economic consequences of unemployment duration and insurance, as well as the impacts of health and health insurance on labor markets. Notowidigdo holds a master's in engineering and Ph.D. in economics from MIT. In 2008, he was a selected participant in the Lindau Nobel Laureate meetings. He received the Carleton B. Tucker Award for Outstanding Teaching from MIT, as well as Excellence in Refereeing Awards from the Quarterly Journal of Economics, the American Economic Review, and the Journal of the European Economic Association.