I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Finance at the University of Melbourne. I am also a Fellow of Netspar and an Editor at the Journal of Pension Economics & Finance.
My research focuses on household finance and pensions. I am interested in normative questions (How should households invest over their life cycle?) and positive questions (Can theory explain observed investment behaviour of households?). I therefore usually combine theoretical models with empirical research in my work, which is relevant for the design of default funds in defined contribution pension plans and the regulation of defined benefit pension plans. My research has been covered by the Financial Times, Investments & Pension Europe, Risk magazine and others.
I have been working on these questions in various roles in academia and the finance industry. As a consultant in the Pension Advisory group of Siemens Financial Services in Munich, I advised trustees of large defined benefit pension plans in Europe and the United States on asset liability management. After my return to academia, I was associated with the UBS Pensions Research Programme hosted by the Financial Markets Group at the London School of Economics and the Network for Studies on Pensions, Aging and Retirement (Netspar) at Tilburg University.
I studied economics at the University of Göttingen and the University of Mannheim and graduated with a doctoral degree in economics from the University of Konstanz with a thesis in applied econometrics. I have been teaching classes in investments and applied econometrics at all levels. I am currently Deputy Honours Coordinator and Brown Bag Seminar Convener at the Department of Finance.
Academic Research
Current Working Papers
Inkmann, J., A. Michaelides, and Y. Zhang (2025): Intra-Household Risk Sharing in Collective Portfolio Choice Models, working paper [SSRN link].
Abstract: Using a collective life-cycle portfolio choice model, we show that the share of wealth in stocks increases with intra-household heterogeneity in risk aversion. This result arises from efficient intra-household risk sharing that implies a consumption sharing rule where the more risk tolerant partner optimally absorbs a higher variation in household consumption, a mechanism that optimally generates a higher share of wealth in stocks. This risk sharing channel is distinct from labor income risk diversification; eliminating the correlation between partners' labor income shocks has minimal effects on portfolio choice relative to the effects of minor intra-household heterogeneity in risk aversion.
Journal Articles
Brugler, J., J. Inkmann, and A. Rizzo (2025): Estimating Background Risk Hedging Demands from Cross-Sectional Data, Journal of Financial Research, 48 (2), 579-604. [Open access].
Inkmann, J. (2024): Aggregate Portfolio Choice, Journal of Empirical Finance, 77, 101494 [Open access].
Inkmann, J., D. Blake, and Z. Shi (2017): Managing Financially Distressed Pension Plans in the Interest of Beneficiaries, Journal of Risk and Insurance, 84 (2), 539-565 (featured article) [Journal link].
Inkmann, J., and Z. Shi (2016): Life-Cycle Patterns in the Design and Adoption of Default Funds in DC Pension Plans, Journal of Pension Economics & Finance, 15 (4), 429-454 [Journal link].
Inkmann, J., and Z. Shi (2015): Parametric Portfolio Policies in the Surplus Consumption Ratio, International Review of Finance, 15 (2), 257-282 [Journal link].
Inkmann, J., and A. Michaelides (2012): Can the Life Insurance Market Provide Evidence for a Bequest Motive?, Journal of Risk and Insurance, 79 (3), 671-695 [Journal link].
Inkmann, J., P. Lopes, and A. Michaelides (2011): How Deep is the Annuity Market Participation Puzzle?, Review of Financial Studies, 24 (1), 279-319 [Journal link].
Inkmann, J. (2010): Estimating Firm Size Elasticities of Product and Process R&D, Economica, 77 (306), 384-402 [Journal link].
Hautsch, N., and J. Inkmann (2003): Optimal Hedging of the Currency Exchange Risk Exposure of Dynamically Balanced Strategic Asset Allocations, Journal of Asset Management, 4 (3), 173-198, 2003 [Journal link].
Inkmann, J. (2000): Misspecified Heteroskedasticity in the Panel Probit Model: A Small Sample Comparison of GMM and SML Estimators, Journal of Econometrics, 97 (2), 227-259 [Journal link].
Books and Book Chapters
Inkmann, J. (2001): Conditional Moment Estimation of Nonlinear Equation Systems - With an Application to an Oligopoly Model of Cooperative R&D, Lecture Notes in Economics and Mathematical Systems, Vol. 497, Heidelberg: Springer [Publisher link].
Franz, W., J. Inkmann, W. Pohlmeier, and V. Zimmermann (2000): Young and Out in Germany: On the Youths’ Chances of Labor Market Entrance in Germany, in: D. G. Blanchflower and R. B. Freeman (eds.), Youth Employment and Joblessness in Advanced Countries, 381-426, Chicago: The University of Chicago Press [NBER link].
Inkmann, J., W. Pohlmeier, and L. Ricci (2000): Where to Patent? Theory and Evidence on International Patenting, in: H.-J. Vosgerau (ed.), Institutional Arrangements for Global Economic Integration, 122-140, London: Macmillan [Publisher link].
Klotz, S., W. Pohlmeier, and J. Inkmann (2000): Langfristige Folgen eines mißglückten Übergangs von der Lehre in den Beruf, in: F. Büchel, M. Diewald, P. Krause, A. Mertens, and H. Solga (eds.), Zwischen drinnen and draußen. Soziale Ausgrenzung am deutschen Arbeitsmarkt, 53-62, Opladen: Leske+Budrich [Publisher link].
Inkmann, J., S. Klotz, and W. Pohlmeier (1998): Permanente Narben oder temporäre Blessuren? Eine Studie über die langfristigen Folgen eines mißglückten Einstiegs in das Berufsleben auf der Grundlage von Pseudo-Panel-Daten, in: F. Pfeiffer and W. Pohlmeier (eds.), Qualifikation, Weiterbildung und Arbeitsmarkterfolg, 223-255, Baden-Baden: Nomos [ZEW link].
Inactive Working Papers
Inkmann, J. (2006): Compensating Wage Differentials for Defined Benefit and Defined Contribution Occupational Pension Scheme Benefits, UBS Pensions Research Programme Working Paper 42, London School of Economics [LSE link].
Inkmann, J., (2000): Horizontal and Vertical R&D Cooperation, Working Paper, University of Konstanz [Econstor link].
Inkmann, J., W. Pohlmeier (1995): R&D Spillovers, Technological Distance, and Innovative Success, Working Paper, University of Konstanz.