James M. Poterba — LLMpedia

James M. Poterba
Name	James M. Poterba
Birth date	1958
Birth place	United States
Nationality	American
Alma mater	* Massachusetts Institute of Technology * Stanford University
Occupation	Economist, Professor, Researcher
Employer	Massachusetts Institute of Technology, National Bureau of Economic Research
Known for	Public finance, taxation, retirement policy

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James M. Poterba

James M. Poterba is an American economist and professor known for research on taxation policy, retirement programs and public finance. He has held leadership roles at the National Bureau of Economic Research and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, advising policymakers in the United States, interacting with institutions such as the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Department of the Treasury. His work intersects with studies by scholars at Harvard University, Stanford University, University of Chicago, Princeton University and international organizations including the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the World Bank.

Early life and education

Born in the United States, Poterba completed undergraduate studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and pursued graduate work at Stanford University, where he earned a Ph.D. in economics. During his early career he interacted with faculty at MIT, researchers at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and colleagues at Harvard University, Yale University, Columbia University, and Princeton University. He trained under influences from scholars associated with the Cowles Commission tradition and connections to policy debates in Washington, D.C., including exchanges with staff from the Congressional Budget Office and the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

Poterba joined the faculty at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and served as a research associate and later president of the National Bureau of Economic Research, collaborating with investigators from the University of California, Berkeley, University of Michigan, London School of Economics, University of Pennsylvania, and Northwestern University. His empirical studies use administrative data from the Internal Revenue Service and survey data such as the Survey of Consumer Finances and the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, and he has worked with datasets affiliated with the Social Security Administration and the Employee Benefit Research Institute. He has examined the effects of tax reform measures including analyses comparable to debates around the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 and the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, and researched interactions with programs like Social Security and Medicare while engaging with comparative work on pension systems in Japan, Germany, United Kingdom, Canada, and Sweden.

Poterba has served in advisory capacities for agencies including the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Social Security Administration, and has briefed members of the U.S. Congress and committees such as the Joint Committee on Taxation and the Senate Finance Committee. He has participated in panels hosted by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, contributed to analyses for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the International Monetary Fund, and lectured for audiences at the World Bank, the Federal Reserve Board, the Bank of England, and central banks of Canada and Australia. His advisory engagements have connected him with policymakers and economists from institutions such as the Brookings Institution, the American Enterprise Institute, Peterson Institute for International Economics, and the Cato Institute.

Poterba's scholarship includes empirical papers and edited volumes on taxation, retirement saving, and household portfolio choice published in journals like the American Economic Review, the Journal of Political Economy, the Quarterly Journal of Economics, the Review of Economic Studies, and the Journal of Public Economics. He has authored influential studies on the responsiveness of household saving to tax incentives, optimal taxation design, and the effects of tax-favored retirement accounts such as 401(k) plans and Individual Retirement Accounts. His collaborative work spans coauthors at Harvard University, University of Chicago, Yale University, Princeton University, Northwestern University, London School of Economics, and University of California, Berkeley, and he has edited volumes drawing contributors from the National Bureau of Economic Research and international research networks. His analyses have informed policy debates over reforms similar to proposals considered during administrations of Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump.

Poterba has been elected a fellow of organizations including the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Social Insurance, and has received recognition from the National Bureau of Economic Research and the American Economic Association. He has held visiting appointments and delivered named lectures at institutions such as Harvard University, Stanford University, Princeton University, Yale University, and the London School of Economics, and has received awards from societies including the NBER affiliates and professional associations connected to taxation research and public finance.

Poterba's legacy is reflected in policy discussions at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, in academic programs at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and across cohorts of researchers trained at institutions like Stanford University, Harvard University, Princeton University, and Yale University. He has mentored scholars who continued work at organizations including the National Bureau of Economic Research, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, the Brookings Institution, and the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. His research continues to influence debates involving legislative bodies such as the U.S. Congress and international organizations including the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the International Monetary Fund.