James A. Wilcox
Professor of the Graduate School | Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA, UNITED STATES
Areas of Expertise (8)
Small Business Lending
Bank Mergers and Acquisitions
Banking
Business Conditions
Consumer Spending
Unemployment And Inflation
Federal Reserve Monetary Policy And Interest Rates
Credit Union Failures And Losses
Education (2)
Northwestern University: PhD, Economics
Binghamton University: BA, Economics and History
Links (4)
Honors & Awards (3)
Earl F. Cheit Award for Excellence in Teaching
1997
Earl F. Cheit Award for Excellence in Teaching
1995
Earl F. Cheit Award for Excellence in Teaching
1987
Selected External Service & Affiliations (3)
- Member, Advisory Board: North American Economics and Finance Association
- Treasurer and Member, Board of Directors, Cal State 9 Credit Union
- Economic and financial consulting
Positions Held (1)
Positions Held
1978 – present, Professor, Haas School of Business 2016 – present, Member, Financial Economists Roundtable 2014 – 2016, Member, Board of Directors, VirtualBeam, Inc. 2012 – present, Member, Board of Directors, Finance Scholars Group 2012 – 2015, Chair, Economic Analysis and Policy Group, Haas School of Business 2003 – present, Fellow, Wharton Financial Institutions Center 1999 – 2001, Chief Economist, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Washington, DC 1991 – 1992, Economist, Federal Reserve Board 1990 – 1991, Senior Economist, President’s Council of Economic Advisers
Media Appearances (15)
Inflation causes and how consumers can fight it
FOX2 KTVU online
2022-04-18
Professor James Wilcox says though prices for goods, fuel, and food are already beginning to retreat, one major wild card remains. "The unknowable is what effect Russia's war on Ukraine will have on all of these prices," he said.
Inflation: Is it close to peaking? Economists weigh in
FOX2 KTVU online
2022-04-12
March's 8.5% inflation eats up a lot of purchasing power. That is higher than the state's 7.25% sales tax, which does not include additional local sales taxes. Inflation is now higher than all sales taxes in 28 counties including Solano County. Professor Jim Wilcox said he expects that prices are not going to go up inexorably at the kind of rates that we've seen over the last couple of years.
Banks closed 4,000 branches in 2021 as consumers turned to electronic banking
ABC7 News online
2022-02-23
The pandemic has accelerated the pace of bank closures. Increased use of mobile apps, coupled with competition from online banks such as Ally and payment systems such as Paypal, played a role. "If we can do more and more of our financial transactions faster, whenever we want to do them, conveniently, cheaper, it makes the whole industry be more efficient," Professor James Wilcox said.
Banks favor Powell over Brainard to lead the Fed. Here's why
MarketWatch online
2021-11-18
Rumor says that U.S. bankers prefer another term for Jerome Powell as chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s board of governors, to his main rival for the job, Lael Brainard. “The path of least resistance is to re-nominate the incumbent,” Prof. James Wilcox said. “In some ways, you have to think that Powell has been the Biden administration’s favorite Republican.”
San Jose Man Arrested In $3.6 Million COVID Loan Fraud Scheme; Feds Say Funds Used For Luxury Lifestyle
CBS SF Bay Area online
2021-07-09
A San Jose man has been arrested for fraudulently obtaining $3.6 million in federal Covid relief loans. He used the funds for shopping, dining, and a Tesla, authorities announced, using multiple company names from one home address. “One of the rules of the PPP program is you can only get one loan,” said Prof. James Wilcox. “So if you see multiple loans under the PPP program going to what looks like one source, this would certainly get your attention and be a reason to investigate.”
Gov. Newsom to help small businesses struggling during pandemic
FOX2 KTVU online
2021-05-14
Gov. Gavin Newsom will announce plans on Thursday to help small businesses bounce back from the pandemic and expected inflation. Prof. James Wilcox said that inflation is not a surprise as the economy reopens, and he expects that the economy will become stronger as the year progresses.
Economy’s rough road to recovery after dismal 2020
FOX2 KTVU online
2021-01-03
Prof. James Wilcox said that the Biden administration should target future stimulus checks to households that will actually spend them—primarily low-income workers and women. "We can direct much more of our help to those who really need it," he said.
How the proposed stimulus deal would impact Bay Area families
KRON4 online
2020-12-23
Prof. James Wilcox said the new stimulus package could help American workers. “...A lot of the lower-paid workers are in service-related industries, in real person-to-person jobs. They got hurt a lot worse than many of the white-collar and other jobs that were able to be done from home,” he said.
Unemployed in search of relief amid pandemic fallout
Fox News online
2020-12-16
People around the country are unemployed and hoping for more prosperous times. But Prof. James Wilcox said it's not so easy to get people back to work. "The economy is not strong enough now to hire these people, certainly not in their prior jobs nor, in many cases, in many other useful jobs," he said.
Former colleague of Janet Yellen reacts to her historic nomination
FOX2 KTVU online
2020-11-30
Prof. James Wilcox says Janet Yellen, the Eugene E. and Catherine M. Trefethen Professor Emeritus of Business Administration, is the best person Pres. Elect Biden could pick for Treasury Secretary. "I think it was a confidence-inspiring move, because she’s respected both at home and abroad," he said. "She’s respected both in financial markets and in the rest of the economy."
California, Engine of U.S. Economy, Reeling From Double Blow of COVID-19 and Wildfires
Newsweek online
2020-09-18
Wildfire smoke is an additional disruption to the California economy, said Prof. James Wilcox. "Restaurants, travel, lodging, visits to the Napa wine country, visits to the California coast in Los Angeles... this is another hit to that whole industry, an industry that's already been hit pretty hard by the pandemic."
Virus talks on brink of collapse, sides still 'far apart'
FOX2 KTVU online
2020-08-07
Time is critical for the government to extend COVID-19 relief, says Prof. James Wilcox. "Certainly we’re going to need more of these safety net measures before the end of this year. If we don’t have them, we’ll have another recession much worse than the one this spring."
Slight decrease in California unemployment claims as numbers rise nationwide
FOX2 KTVU online
2020-07-30
From April to June, the U.S. economy shrank by a shocking 33 percent annualized, said Prof. Jim Wilcox. "We've never seen such a sudden, huge drop like this in a single quarter," he said.
KPIX Investigation Reveals Paycheck Protection Program Is Vulnerable To Fraud
KPIX5 CBS online
2020-07-24
An investigation on PPP loans finds that some went out to businesses with major red flags and some to businesses that don't even exist. "One of the rules of the PPP program is you can only get one loan," said Prof. James Wilcox. "So if you see multiple loans under the PPP program going to what looks like one source, this would certainly get your attention and be a reason to investigate."
GOP outlines priorities for next coronavirus relief bill
FOX2 KTVU online
2020-07-21
A bill that offers help to local governments as well as businesses is crucial, said Prof. James Wilcox. "What we really want to prevent is either households or businesses, or even state or local governments, from tumbling into such serious financial trouble that they're effectively bankrupt," he said.
Selected Papers & Publications (5)
Government Guarantees of Loans to Small Businesses: Effects on Banks’ Risk-Taking and Non-Guaranteed Lending
Journal of Financial Intermediation
James A.Wilcox, Yukihiro Yasuda
2018
The Home Purchase Sentiment Index: A New Housing Indicator
Business Economics
James A. Wilcox
2015
Regime Shifts in Real Estate Markets: Time-Varying Effects of the U.S. and Japanese Economies on House Prices in Hawaii
Real Estate Economics
James A. Wilcox, John R. Krainer.
2013
Underwriting, Mortgage Lending, and House Prices: 1996 – 2008
Business Economics,
James A. Wilcox
2009
Teaching (1)
Macroeconomics
UGBA 101B
Social