James M. Poterba

James M. Poterba is a Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and serves as President and CEO of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). He holds significant roles in academic, policy, and institutional leadership, including trustee positions at the College Retirement Equity Fund (CREF) and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. His research focuses on tax policy, retirement economics, public finance, and aging-related economic challenges.

Key affiliations include MIT's Department of Economics, NBER, and advisory roles at the Congressional Budget Office. He has received compensation for lectures from institutions such as the American Economic Association, universities, and financial organizations. His work often addresses fiscal policy, infrastructure investment, and social security sustainability, leveraging large datasets like the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to analyze wealth dynamics and policy impacts.

Poterba's recent research explores tax competition, mobility-related tax incidence, and retirement savings behavior. He has contributed to understanding annuity demand, estate taxation, and the effects of health shocks on retirement wealth. His interdisciplinary approach bridges economic theory with practical policy analysis, influencing both academic discourse and public sector decision-making.