Our Research Philosophy

Capital Economics has no business in securities or other financial products. We are therefore independent and have no conflicts of interest. Our loyalties are quite simply to our clients, to whom we pledge to provide full, unbiased coverage and to “tell it as we see it”, whether that is good or bad.

Our economic philosophy is broad-based and pragmatic. The worst research is often based on dogma or “black box” computer models. Although we take full account of the monetary aspects of the economy and draw on econometric analysis when required, we do not believe that these approaches offer a unique or necessarily reliable guide to the real world. Instead, they have to be interpreted alongside other data. An understanding of institutional change and new global trends is also essential.

We are not afraid to challenge the conventional wisdom and stand out from the pack. This is reflected in our economic and market forecasts, which are often very different from the consensus. We avoid simply reporting past developments and aim instead to provide original and forward-looking analysis, with strong and clear conclusions.

When writing about financial markets, we do not make specific trade or asset allocation recommendations. But we do provide detailed analysis and forecasts for the performance of the main asset classes, and always seek to draw out the market implications of our economic views.

The paramount values which we seek to uphold are independence of thought, insight, clarity, brevity, accuracy and good judgement.