James is interested in the effect of a stated inflation target on the inflation expectations of the private sector (with particular reference to the UK experience since 1992). His current research is focused upon developing a macroeconomic model incorporating anchored inflation expectations into a framework with an explicit inflation target. Other areas of interest include the increased emphasis on interest rate expectations that an inflation target might induce and the use of experimental techniques to investigate alternative theories of expectation formation.

James successfully completed his PhD in February 2011 and was supervised by Professor Daniel John Zizzo and Professor Shaun Hargreaves-Heap.