• Bachelor’s degree: Durham University; Philosophy, Politics & Economics BA
• Master’s degree university and course: LSE; Economic History MSc
• Capital Economics Graduate Scheme, applicable dates: September 2015 – August 2017 

Why did you apply to join the Capital Economics graduate scheme? 

I wanted to apply the macroeconomics I had learned at university to the real world. By rotating graduates around four teams, the CE grad scheme offered the chance to apply economics to several areas, which I thought (correctly as it turns out!) would make me into a more well-rounded economist. The offer of a fully funded Master’s degree was another big plus, as was the reputation of the firm.

What did you work on while on the graduate scheme?

Lots of different stuff – that’s the great thing about CE. The individual teams are quite small, so it’s a case of all hands on deck, which means that graduates get stuck in producing reports very quickly. But here are a few highlights from my experience: on the UK team, I wrote a Focus on what Brexit would mean for Scotland’s economy; on the Commodities team, I developed proprietary indicators to approximate global industrial metal demand; on the Global Markets team, I took a keen interest in covering corporate bond markets; and finally, on the Global Economics team, I researched the causes of all recessions in G7 economies since 1960!

What is the most rewarding or surprising aspect of your role at Capital Economics?

The most rewarding part of the job is completing a report on a subject that extends the ‘knowledge capital’ of the firm. That way, you feel like you are really adding value.

What have you worked on since progressing from the graduate scheme?

In terms of written reports, a personal favourite of mine was researching the lessons from the ‘Great Inflation’ period of the 1970s. This gave me the opportunity to extend my knowledge of the period acquired during my Master’s degree. But working at CE isn’t all about written reports. I have also developed in-house indicators of financial conditions and shortages for advanced economies, created Eikon ‘workspaces’ for economists to survey the financial market landscape at a glance, and curated dashboards of interactive graphs on our online data platform – CE Interactive. In addition, I get involved in outward-facing tasks such as presenting to clients, participating in webinars, and representing the company in TV and radio interviews.