James Choi

Professor Choi’s research spans behavioral finance, behavioral economics, household finance, capital markets, health economics, and sociology. His work on automatic enrollment has led to changes in pension plan design around the world. In other papers, he has investigated topics such as the influence of social identity on economic preferences and outcomes, investor ignorance of mutual fund fees, the effect of deadlines and peer information on savings choices, how retail investor sentiment in China affects stock returns, and the use of subtle planning prompts to increase preventive health behaviors.

Professor Choi is a two-time recipient of the TIAA Paul A. Samuelson Award for outstanding scholarly writing on lifelong financial security. He is ​a Co-Director of the Retirement and Disability Research Center at the National Bureau of Economic Research, an Associate Editor at the Journal of Finance, and a TIAA Institute Fellow. He has served on the FINRA Investor Issues Committee and a Technical Expert Panel for the U.S. Department of Health & Human Servicesl Bureau of Economic Research, a member of the FINRA Investor Issues Committee,​ and a TIAA-CREF Institute Fellow.

EDUCATION

• PhD , Harvard University, 2005
• AB , Harvard University, 1998

ACHIEVEMENTS

• 40 Under 40 Most Outstanding MBA Professors , Poets & Quants, 2016
• TIAA-CREF Paul A. Samuelson Award for outstanding scholarly writing on lifelong financial security (with D. Laibson and B.C. Madrian), 2011
• NBER Pre-Doctoral Fellow in Aging and Health Economics , 2003-2005
• Harvey Fellow , Mustard Seed Foundation, 2003-2005
• National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship , 2000-2003
• Hoopes Prize for excellence in Harvard undergraduate research , 1998
• Phi Beta Kappa , Harvard University, 1998

SELECTED ARTICLES

The Effect of Providing Peer Information on Retirement Savings Decisions J.J. Choi, J. Beshears, D. Laibson, B. Madrian, and K. Milkman Journal of Finance 2015

Why Does the Law of One Price Fail? An Experiment on Index Mutual Funds J.J. Choi, D. Laibson, and B.C. Madrian Review of Financial Studies 2010

Social Identity and Preferences D.J. Benjamin, J.J. Choi, and A.J. Strickland American Economic Review 2010

Optimal Defaults and Active Decisions G.D. Carroll, J.J. Choi, D. Laibson, B.C. Madrian, and A. Metrick Quarterly Journal of Economics 2009

Defined contribution pensions: Plan rules, participant choices, and the path of least resistance J. J. Choi, D. Laibson, B. C. Madrian and A. Metrick Tax Policy and the Economy 2002

SELECTED WORKING PAPERS

What Matters to Individual Investors? Evidence from the Horse's Mouth J.J. Choi and A. Robertson

Borrowing to Save? The Impact of Automatic Enrollment on Debt J. Beshears, J.J. Choi, D. Laibson, B.C. Madrian, and W.L. Skimmyhorn Randomizing Religion: The Impact of Protestant Evangelism on Economic Outcomes G. Bryan, J. J. Choi, and D. Karlan

Building Emergency Savings Through Employer-Sponsored Rainy Day Savings Accounts J. Beshears, J.J. Choi, J.M. Iwry, D.C. John, D. Laibson, and B.C. Madrian

Which Early Withdrawal Penalty Attracts the Most Deposits to a Commitment Savings Account? J. Beshears, J.J. Choi, C. Harris, D. Laibson, B.C. Madrian, and J. Sakong More Publications by James Choi