
James Poterba
President, NBER
Mitsui Professor of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
JAMES POTERBA is the Mitsui Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the president of the National Bureau of Economic Research, a nonprofit research organization with nearly 1600 affiliated economists. His recent research has analyzed the determinants of retirement saving, the draw-down of assets after households reach retirement, and the role of tax-deferred retirement saving programs such as 401(k) plans in contributing to retirement security. He has served as president of the Eastern Economic Association and the National Tax Association, and as vice president of the American Economic Association. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences. He is a trustee of the College Retirement Equity Fund, the TIAA-CREF mutual funds, and of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. He holds an undergraduate degree from Harvard College and a D. Phil. in economics from Oxford University, where he was a Marshall scholar.
Publications
Economic Perspectives on Infrastructure Investment
THE ECONOMICS OF FEDERAL INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT Bipartisan support for new infrastructure spending reflects a consensus view that well- chosen infrastructure investments would enhance American economic competitiveness and increase the economy’s productive capacity. Sound investments also have the potential to accelerate the US economy’s transition to sustainable energy sources and to address some of the sources ...