Neil Shearing

Associate Fellow, Global Economy and Finance Programme

Biography

Neil Shearing is group chief economist at Capital Economics, the leading economic research company. He heads a team of 70 economists spread across Europe, the Americas and Asia, and is responsible for driving the firm’s research agenda as well as developing its products and relationships with clients. He is also a director of the company.

Neil has 20 years’ experience as a macroeconomist, built in both the government and financial sector. He presents regularly on the global economic and financial market outlook and is a well-known voice within the investment community, having worked in both London and New York.


Neil has written articles in the Financial Times and a number of other newspapers, as well as appearing regularly on TV and radio.

Prior to becoming group chief economist, Neil was chief emerging markets economist at Capital Economics, managing a team that won several awards for forecast accuracy. He also managed the New York office.

Neil joined Capital Economics from HM Treasury where he worked as an economic adviser in various areas, including fiscal policy and global economics.

He holds degrees in Economics from the University of York and the University of London and is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Neil’s main area of research interest is in analysing and understanding structural shifts in the global economy. This clearly touches on a wide range of issues, but a fundamental question today is whether we’re facing the end of globalisation, a key area of current work which raises several interesting questions.

What does history tell us about past waves of globalisation? Are they doomed to end? What role is technology playing? Could new technologies drive another wave of integration or are they more likely to lead to re-shoring as robots replace workers? Which countries would be most vulnerable to a rollback of globalisation? Related to this, will emerging economies ever ‘catch up’ to income levels in developed economies? What are the implications for policy makers (governments, central banks) and global institutions (IMF, World Bank)?