Dr George Buckley was conferred to the Fellowship of the Academy in autumn 2024. He is currently Chief UK and Euro Area Economist and Executive Director at Nomura, a global financial services group.

Dr George BuckleyFAcSS
After graduating from Bangor University (Economics), George completed a Masters degree (Economics & Finance) and a PhD (housing market economics) at the University of Bristol. He became Deutsche Bank’s Chief UK Economist in 2005 and Nomura’s Chief European Economist from 2019. He is a published author (What You Need to Know about Economics, 2011, Capstone) and since 2021 has been Chair of the Society of Professional Economists (SPE).
In his day-to-day work for Nomura, George and his team forecast the major economies of the euro area, the UK, Scandinavia and Switzerland. George is an advisor to Nomura’s sales and trading desks, investment banking teams and clients. He regularly speaks on the television and radio and is often quoted on his views in the press.
Why do the social sciences matter?
My field within social sciences is economics and finance. Understanding where the economy is at in the business cycle and forecasting how it might develop in the future are key issues for policymakers when thinking about decisions on monetary and fiscal policy that keep the economy on an even keel.
What do you enjoy most about your work?
While it’s been some time since I’ve practiced economics in an academic setting, what I love the most about my job – Nomura’s Chief European Economist – is the ability to apply my academic knowledge of the subject to a real-world environment. It’s important in my work to strike a good balance between the time spent researching and writing about economics and the time spent presenting that research to stakeholders – whether they be clients, internal trading and sales desks, students or the media.
What is the most urgent issue social scientists need to tackle today and within the next three years?
Bearing in mind my discipline, I have to answer this question from the standpoint of a practicing economist. Had you asked me this just a few months ago I would have said inflation, which had risen sharply – and in some counties to double digits. Central banks have since got a grip on this, but it’s just as important now to make sure there’s no repeat of the inflation surge – so keeping inflation under wraps is still a key issue. Once that’s been done, we can focus our attention on all the other crucial aspects of the social sciences.
On the fiscal side, governments’ priorities – whatever they may be, from tackling inequality to climate change – must be more effectively balanced against sticking to a rigorous set of fiscal rules. One can argue for or against any given set of redistributive policies, but what must come before this is to ensure that the fiscal bandwidth exists to implement these policies. In short, fiscal sustainability – leaving the public finances fit for future generations – is key.
What does being a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences mean to you?
It’s an honour to be asked to join this prestigious group. In my daily work I strive to deliver on the Academy’s tagline: promoting understanding of our contemporary human [and economic] world.