Angus Armstrong is now leading a centre charged with the task of restoring the relevance of macroeconomics following its failure to see the possibility of the 2008 crash. And he is doing so within an organisation that actually provided macroeconomic forecasts that didn’t include the possibility of the catastrophic events of 2008.
The Centre for Rebuilding Macro-Economics that Armstrong leads is located at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) in Westminster. To add to the irony NIESR won the leadership of the centre against a bid by so-called heterodox economists led from Leeds University. And now NIESR is going to lead a “revolution in macroeconomics” and is looking to “reattach macro-economics to policy”.
In addition to leading the Centre, Angus also assumes the role of Chief Economic Adviser to Lloyds Banking Group.
Previously, Angus Armstrong was the Director of Macroeconomics at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIECR). In addition, he was Head of Macroeconomic Analysis at Her Majesty’s Treasury from mid-2004, where he was closely involved in the UK’s response to the financial crisis, including representation at G20 Officials Meetings. Prior to joining the Treasury, Armstrong was Chief Economist Asia and a Managing Director at Deutsche Bank. He is an Adjunct Professor at Imperial College Business School. His research interests are the application of finance to family decision making and comparative macro-financial systems.
Academically Angus has a PhD in economics and is an Honorary Professor Stirling University. Fields of expertise include macroeconomics, financial systems, international monetary system and constitutional economics (Scotland and Brexit).