Joan is the Editor of The Economist’s flagship annual Democracy Index, recognised by governments, international organisations and academia as a leading measure of global democracy. She is an expert on European political economy, with a special interest in democracy, governance, political risk, EU enlargement and post-communist transition in Eastern Europe. 

Joan is a former regional director for Europe at Economist Intelligence, where she led a team of analysts covering 50 countries in Europe and Central Asia. She now works as a consultant for the Economist Group and a writer on international affairs. Joan joined EIU in 1995, working as a Senior Analyst for Eastern Europe before becoming Regional Manager and then Director for Europe.
She began her career as a journalist covering UK and Irish affairs, before developing her interest and expertise in Eastern Europe over several decades from the late 1980s. She covered the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and the wars in the former Yugoslavia, before pursuing her career in country analysis and forecasting. Joan studied British, American and European History at Sussex University. She pursued postgraduate studies in Industrial Relations.

Joan is an accomplished chairperson. She has chaired more than 50 Economist events, including prime ministers, presidents and senior government ministers and business leaders. She is an experienced public speaker, and has spoken at many international forums, and is a frequent commentator on European affairs.