James Choi
Professor of Finance
James Choi is Professor of Finance at the Yale School of Management. His primary research is in household finance and behavioral finance; his work on automatic enrollment has led to changes in pension plan design around the world. He has also published research on the effects of social identity and how to use psychology 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 an Associate Editor at the Journal of Finance and a TIAA Institute Fellow. He has previously served as a Co-Director of the Retirement and Disability Research Center at the National Bureau of Economic Research and as a member of the FINRA Investor Issues Committee and the American Finance Association’s Ethics Committee. He holds a Ph.D. in economics and an A.B. in applied mathematics from Harvard University.
Education
- PhD, Harvard University, 2005
- AB, Harvard University, 1998
Articles
Millionaires Speak: What Drives Their Personal Investment Decisions?
Popular Personal Financial Advice versus the Professors
Randomizing Religion: The Impact of Protestant Evangelism on Economic Outcomes
What Matters to Individual Investors? Evidence from the Horse’s Mouth
Does Aggregated Returns Disclosure Increase Portfolio Risk-Taking?
Working Papers
Optimal Illiquidity
Achievements
- TIAA Paul A. Samuelson Award, 2018 (with J. Beshears, D. Laibson, and B.C. Madrian), 2011 (with D. Laibson and B.C. Madrian)
- 40 Under 40 Most Outstanding MBA Professors, Poets & Quants, 2016
- 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