Norman Macrae


Norman Alastair Duncan Macrae was a British economist, journalist and author, considered by some to have been one of the world's best forecasters when it came to economics and society.

Career

Macrae joined The Economist in 1949 and retired as its deputy chief editor in 1988. He foresaw the Pacific century, the reversal of nationalization of enterprises, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the spread of the internet, which were all published in the newspaper during his time there.
Not to get bored, Macrae's first ten years in retirement produced the biography of John von Neumann, a column for the UK Sunday Times, and a 'Heresy Column' for Fortune.
He was the father of mathematician, marketing commentator, and author Chris Macrae. 2025 REPORT, their joint future history on death of distance first published in 1984, forecast that 2005–2025 would be humanity's most critical decade irreversibly impacting sustainability. The last update of 2025 Report was published in Swedish in 1993 as Den Nye Vikingen

Honours