The authors demonstrate that the best forecasters blend technical expertise and mastery of the data with judgement and humility. In addition, teams of forecasters can produce better results when the team is open to sharing and constructive debate. 5 Alan Blinder (1998), Central Banking in Theory and Practice, MIT.
The first half of 2000, however, holds out better prospects. In Europe, too, economic performance is improving. In 1999 GDP growth reached 2.3%. Though seemingly low compared to the 3% growth rate of the world economy, it should be noted that European growth accelerated considerably in the course of 1999. For the current year, a robust growth rate of 3-3.5% is expected.