Dr. James Cooper

Education

PhD in economics, Emory University
JD, magna cum laude, George Mason University
BA in international relations, University of South Carolina 

Experience

Dr. James Cooper is an Associate Professor of Law and the Director of the Program on Economics & Privacy, and George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School, where he has been a faculty member since 2012. Dr. Cooper recently took leave to serve as Deputy Director for Economics Analysis in the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection (BCP) from 2018-2019, and earlier in his career had served as Acting Director of the FTC’s Office of Policy Planning (OPP), and an Advisor to Federal Trade Commissioner William Kovacic. 

In his various roles at the FTC, Dr. Cooper advised the Commission on a variety of issues involving consumer protection and competition enforcement and policy matters. During his tenure in BCP, Dr. Cooper provided analysis on enforcement matters involving advertising, marketing, privacy, and data security, and acted as liaison between BCP and the FTC’s Bureau of Economics. While heading OPP, Dr. Cooper was in charge of the FTC’s competition advocacy program. 

His research on privacy, consumer protection, and competition policy have appeared in top law reviews and law & economics journals such as the Journal of Law & Economics, International Review of Law & Economics, Journal of Regulatory Economics, and the Antitrust Law Journal. Dr. Cooper lectures widely on economic analysis of competition and consumer protection policy, participates frequently in public policy conferences, and presents original research in a wide variety of forums