< The 2014 All-Europe Research Team

Malcolm Barr, David Mackie & team
J.P. Morgan Cazenove
First-place appearances: 0

Total appearances: 13

Team debut: 1986

Malcolm Barr and David Mackie co-captain J.P. Morgan Cazenove’s team to its best showing since 1998. The London-based troupe of seven rises from runner-up to third place on the strength of its “consistent, clear and easy-to-use analysis combined with more thorough, longer-term and in-depth pieces,” according to one investment manager. Although the euro zone officially exited recession in the second quarter last year, the economists believe macro conditions are “still fairly heavy going,” says Mackie, who took charge of the team in 2009 and was joined by Barr last year. “The early stages of this recovery do seem a bit bumpy, and the region still looks like it’s struggling to reach some sort of growth momentum where it will sustain a steady rhythm.” However, the economic and monetary union has made “very good progress in terms of creating a platform for financial stability,” he emphasizes, and “the foundations of the recovery are somewhat better-established than people would have you believe.” Given that political stresses are unlikely to be as disruptive as they have been, Mackie adds, the euro area “has got space from the point of view of both financial stability and political stability to allow itself some time to make progress in terms of establishing the recovery.”