As usual we open with the first meeting of the new year giving a dual perspective on that ever topical subject - the UK economy. This year we were delighted to welcome Dr George Buckley, Chief UK Economist and Co-Head of European Economics at Nomura and Dr Garry Young, Director of Macroeconomic Modelling and Forecasting.

Dr Young is a very experienced economist focussing on macroeconomics and UK economic policy. He has published widely in economic journals. His career has included spells at the Bank of England, NIESR, HM Treasury and Exeter University. He holds a PhD from the LSE. Garry is returning to the Institute after 17 years and twice won The Independent’s Golden Guru award and topped the Sunday Times league table of economic forecasters when last at the Institute.

George Buckley joined Nomura in January 2017 as their Chief UK Economist & Co Head of European Economics, having previously been Deutsche Bank’s Chief UK Economist. He has 18 years’ experience in the City, following a PhD at the University of Bristol (housing and mortgage markets). While at Bristol George lectured and taught tutorials in macroeconomics and econometrics. He holds an MSc in Economics and Finance, also from the University of Bristol, and a BA in Economics from the University of Wales, Bangor. George is a published author (What You Need to Know About Economics, Capstone, 2011) and won the Society of Business Economists’ annual Rybczynski Prize for an essay on spare capacity.