Top Guru: The Best Tea Leaves In Town
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Sometimes, inhabitants of the ivory tower have a clear view of the real world. That, at least, is the lesson from BUSINESS WEEK's 1996 survey of forecasters. The most accurate predictions came from Donald Ratajczak, director of the Economic Forecasting Center at Georgia State University in Atlanta.
In the December, 1995, survey, most economists were correct in expecting that growth in real gross domestic product would be sluggish in 1996. The consensus called for growth of 1.9%, and Ratajczak expected growth of 1.8%. For the year ended in the third quarter, real GDP was up a lackluster 2.2%.