Magnus was the Chief Economist, and then Senior Economic Adviser at UBS Investment Bank from 1995-2012. 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 notable the Great Financial Crisis of 2008. He famously anticipated it in 2006-2007 with a series of research papers in which he warned of an impending Minsky Moment.

Magnus also worked as the Chief Economist at SG Warburg (1987-1995), and before that in a senior capacity before ‘Big Bang’ at Laurie Milbank/Chase Securities, and before that, Bank of America in London and San Francisco.

George is followed for his insights and observations about the global economy as well as economic trends in China. His China focus derives from a long period of observation and study following his first visit in 1994. He also opines regularly on demographic trends around the world, and key issues such as Brexit. He is a regular contributor to the Financial Times, Prospect Magazine, BBC TV and radio, Bloomberg TV and other outlets.

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.

George’s current book, Red Flags, was published in September 2018 by Yale University Press. It examines China’s contemporary economic and commercial challenges and aspirations to modernity in the light of a governance system that is a throwback to much earlier times in the People’s Republic. 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 and questioned the widely accepted narrative that China was destined to