Economic Outlooks (Africa & Middle East)

Ira Kalish is the chief global economist of Deloitte Services LP. He is a specialist in global economic issues and the effects of economic, demographic, and social trends on the global business environment.

Michael Wolf is a global economist at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd. He provides written commentary and analysis on global economic issues that affect the firm and its clients. He has been quoted by various media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal and NPR. Wolf began his career as an economist at the US Labor Department and has since held economist positions at Moody’s Analytics, Wells Fargo Securities, and PwC. He has two graduate degrees, one in economic policy from Columbia University, and the other in statistics from Baruch College. He also has a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Maryland.

Akrur Barua, associate vice president at Deloitte Services India Pvt. Ltd., is an economist with the Research & Insights team. As a regular contributor to several Deloitte Insights publications, he often writes on emerging economies and macroeconomic trends that have global implications like monetary policy, real estate cycles, household leverage, and trade. He also studies the US economy, especially demographics, labor market, and consumers.