James has worked at the Reserve Bank of Australia for 20 years and before that worked at the Australian Treasury. He has worked in a range of areas including Commonwealth-State financial relations, macroeconomic analysis and forecasting, international markets, as well as helping manage the RBA’s banknote upgrade program. James is currently the Deputy Head of Economic Analysis at the RBA in charge of the business liaison program and the RBA’s network of state offices. The information and perspectives from the RBA’s liaison program is an important input into the monetary policy decision-making of the Reserve Bank Board. James grew up in Bundaberg and studied economics and commerce at the University of Queensland.