The World in 2025

Neil Shearing

Group Chief Economist

Neil Shearing is our Group Chief Economist. He has overall responsibility for managing our team of economists and leading our research, as well as developing the firm’s products and its relationship with clients. He is also a director of the company. Neil is the first point of contact for many clients and presents regularly on the global economic and financial market outlook. He is a well-known voice within the investment community and 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 our Chief Emerging Markets Economist, managing a team that won several awards for forecast accuracy. He also managed our 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.

Jennifer McKeown

Chief Global Economist

Jennifer McKeown is Chief Global Economist at Capital Economics. She leads a team of economists producing research on global themes and works closely with economists across Capital Economics’ regional services to shape the global view and to draw out the key implications of our forecasts. She is an important point of contact for many clients and presents frequently on the global economic outlook in person and at online events, as well as appearing regularly on TV and radio.     Prior to becoming Chief Global Economist, Jennifer was Chief Europe Economist at Capital Economics. She joined the company from the Bank of England, where she also specialised in the economics of the euro-zone. She holds an MSc in economics from University College London and a BA in economics from the University of East Anglia.

John Higgins

Chief Markets Economist

John Higgins is Capital Economics’ Chief Markets Economist, with overall responsibility for our Capital Daily, Global Markets, Asset Allocation and FX Markets services. Prior to joining the company in 2008, he worked at Stone & McCarthy Research Associates, where he was Senior Economist covering the euro area, and before that at Nomura International plc in London, where he was Head of Economic and Credit Research within the fixed income division. John is a graduate of the University of Exeter.

Paul Ashworth

Chief North America Economist

Paul Ashworth is our Chief North America Economist, with overall responsibility for our coverage of the US and Canada. He joined Capital Economics in 2001 and has led our Toronto office since 2007. Paul joined Capital Economics from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) where he worked on their large-scale model of the global economy and was responsible for coverage of various countries, including Canada and Germany. He holds degrees in Mathematics and Economics from Strathclyde and Warwick Universities, and his PhD thesis focused on asymmetry and asymmetric adjustment in macroeconomics.

Mark Williams

Chief Asia Economist

Mark Williams is Capital Economics' Chief Asia Economist. He leads a team of macroeconomists covering the whole region, while paying particularly close attention himself to developments in China's economy and financial markets, and their implications for the rest of the world. Mark also works closely with William Jackson on the Emerging Markets Service looking at issues common to different parts of the emerging world. Mark has been with Capital Economics since 2007. He was previously Asia economist at HM Treasury, responsible for analysis of the risks and prospects in non-Japan Asia and prior to that lived and worked for several years in Taiwan. He speaks and reads Chinese and has degrees in Chinese and Economics from the universities of Edinburgh and Oxford.

Franziska Palmas

Senior Europe Economist

Franziska Palmas is a Senior Europe Economist with an expertise in the German and Italian economies. She joined the company in 2018 and previously worked on the Global Markets team with a focus on European markets. She holds an undergraduate degree in Business Administration and Economics from the University of Passau (Germany) and masters degrees in Economics and Economic History from Barcelona School of Economics and London School of Economics. She is a native Italian and German speaker.