George Magnus is an independent economist and commentator, and Research Associate at the China Centre, Oxford University, and at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London.
Magnus was the Chief Economist and then Senior Economic Adviser at UBS Investment Bank from 1995 to 2012. He had a front-row seat and key managerial position for multiple episodes of boom and bust in both advanced economies and emerging markets, including the Great Financial Crisis of 2008, which Magnus famously anticipated in 2006-2007 with a series of research papers warning of an impending Minsky Moment. For four years, until 2016, he served finally as an External Senior Adviser with clients of the investment bank.
Magnus had previously worked as the Chief Economist at SG Warburg (1987-1995), before that in a senior capacity at Laurie Milbank/Chase Securities, and before that at Bank of America in London and San Francisco.
His China focus derives from a long period of observation and study that goes back to his first visit in 1994. He also opines regularly on demographic trends around the world, as well as on key issues nowadays such as Brexit and the U.S. and world economy. He is a regular contributor to the Financial Times, Prospect Magazine, BBC TV and radio, Bloomberg TV, and other outlets.
Magnus is the author of Red Flags: Why Xi’s China Is in Jeopardy (Yale University Press, 2018). His earlier books are The Age of Aging (2008), which investigated the effects of the unique experience of demographic change on the global economy, and Uprising: Will Emerging Markets Shape or Shake the World Economy? (2011), which examined the rise of China and other major emerging markets.
