Professor James Sefton

My economic research agenda focuses on questions about intergenerational equity, pension policy design and long run trends in the housing market. As a quantitative finance researcher, I am interested in the design of both quantitative investment strategies and retirement investment products.

• 1987-91     PhD,  Cambridge University
• 1984-87     M.A. from Cambridge University

• 1992-2001, Research Office, Research Fellow, Senior Research Fellow, NIESR
• 2001- Professor of Economics, Imperial College Business School (Part-time until 2012)
• 1998-2006 and 2009-2012, Quantitative Analyst, Head of Global Quantitative Research, UBS, London (Part-Time)
• 2006-2009, Principal Scientist, Winton Capital Management, London (Part-Time).

2022   ‘Generational Wealth Accounts: Did Public and Private Inter-Generational Transfers Offset Each Other Over the Financial Crisis?’, Economic Journal, with David McCarthy, Ron Lee, Joze Sambt.

2020    ‘House prices and growth with fixed land supply’, Economic Journal, with David Miles.

2014     ‘Is low fertility really a problem? Population aging, dependency, and consumption’, Science, Vol 346, 229-234, with Ronald Lee, Andrew Mason and NTA Co-authors.

2009    ‘Optimal Design of Means Tested Retirement Benefits?’, Economic Journal,  Volume 119, Issue 541, November 2009,  with Justin van de Ven.

2008    ‘Means Testing Retirement Benefits: fostering equity or discouraging savings?’, Economic Journal, Volume 118, Issue 528, April 2008,  Page 556-590 with Justin van de Ven and Martin Weale.

2005     ‘The Concept of Income in a General Equilibrium’, Vol: 73, Review of Economic Studies, with Martin Weale.

2001     ‘Simulating the Transmission of Wealth Inequality via Bequests’. Journal of Public Economics. Vol. 79. Pp 93-128,. With  Gokhale, L. Kotlikoff and M. Weale.

2000    ‘UK Generational Accounts’. Economic Journal. With R Cardarelli and L. Kotlikoff