When it comes to sure bets, economic forecasting probably vies with horse-race handicapping regarding predictability, although it tends to be much more complex and certainly a lot less fun.
That’s probably why 19th century Victorian historians dubbed economics the “dismal science.” Unlike the “gay science” of the time, which applied to song and verse writing, economists —most notably Thomas Maltus who calculated that the human race was doomed since it would not be able to feed itself — painted grim pictures of supply and demand.