Professor James Malcomson FBA

Summary

James Malcomson was Professor of Economics at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of All Souls College from 1999 to 2013. He has a PhD in economics from Harvard University, previously taught economics at the universities of York and Southampton, and is a Fellow of the Econometric Society. His research has focussed primarily on the economics of contracts, especially their implications for labour markets and provision of health services. In these, as in many other services, important aspects of the quality of service are difficult to specify contractually in advance in a legally enforceable way. Two important issues then arise: (1) how best to structure the contract so that what the parties want is actually provided and (2) what the implications are for delivery of services. He has particular interest in the economics of relational contracts, on-going relationships with important contractual details that are legally unenforceable. These pervade economic life, especially employment and provision of complex services such as health care. He chaired the Commission on Competition in the NHS set up by the Office of Health Economics that reported in January 2012 and has been appointed a member of the Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration, 2015-2021.