In late 2008 Queen Elizabeth II famously asked why no one had seen the downturn coming.

In late 2008, during a briefing at the London School of Economics, Queen Elizabeth II famously asked why no one had seen the downturn coming.

 For economists employed in the financial sector, there is an implicit bias towards optimism. 

 As one once told me "There is no incentive to forecast a recession, If you are wrong, you'll be fired. And if you're right, no one will thank you." 

 Or as Keynes put it,

 Worldly wisdom teaches that it is better for reputation to fail conventionally than to succeed unconventionally.

 Buttonwood, The Economist 21 July 2016


About The Queen at IntCom


About The Queen at IntCom

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