The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), Rosslyn, Va., recently announced that its nationally ranked forecasters Don Leavens, vice president and chief economist, and Tim Gill, director economics, placed highly in the Wall Street Journal’s Economic Forecasting Survey for the second year in a row.
Leavens and Gill were ranked number one for their 2011 macroeconomic forecast and finished in fifth place for 2012, according to annual results released by the newspaper. The achievement marks a notable degree of consistency during an extended period of difficult-to-predict economic conditions. Approximately 50 forecasters serve on the Wall Street Journal panel each year, representing academia, financial institutions, consulting firms, private businesses and industry associations. Their contributions are evaluated using a methodology designed by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
“We’ve long held that the recovery from the Great Recession was going to be slower than in past business cycles,” said Leavens. “That view has been borne out by the data over the last couple of years.”
How do NEMA’s forecasters expect the economy to perform in 2013? “We see economic growth in the first half of 2013 looking much like it has over the last several years,” said Gill in a press release announcing the honor. “But a steadily recovering housing market and more robust consumer spending gains should contribute to a stronger economy later in the year and into 2014.”