By: Paul Ormerod

Paul Ormerod is an economist at Volterra Partners LLP, author and an Honorary Professor at the Alliance Business School at the University of Manchester

All 211 Articles

Forget Oasis, dynamic pricing could be coming for your weekly shop

Opinion

The rise of big data means dynamic pricing is easier to implement. Paul Ormerod asks what this could mean for consumers's everyday shopping.
Zack Polanski’s public spending plans are pure fantasy

Opinion

Advisors to the Green Party are advocating Modern Monetary Theory, It’s been tried before and proved a disaster, says Paul Ormerod The Green Party is riding high in the polls – a recent survey puts them joint top, with Labour in fourth place. On the economics front, this raises once again the spectre of Modern [...]
Forget ‘price gouging’ – this is where competition is really failing

Opinion

Rachel Reeves is scapegoating supermarkets for rising oil prices while ignoring algorithms that can learn ant-competitive pricing strategies, says Paul Ormerod The government is desperately trying to convince the public that it is doing something about the potential economic crisis which is unfolding. The public finances are a severe constraint on its ability to throw [...]

Plaid Cymru would bankrupt an independent Wales on day one

March 26, 2026

The local elections will likely see Labour lose the grip it has held on Wales since the inception of the Senedd. If Plaid Cymru does indeed form the next government, the UK might usefully acclimatise them to what life would be like under independence, says Paul Ormerod The swathe of local elections which are due [...]
It’s not the oil price, it’s the government response that matters

March 18, 2026

Like most commodities, oil has fluctuated in price very substantially over time with regrettable effects on household incomes. But the biggest mistake would be to try to protect living standards as a whole when the country has been made worse off, says Paul Ormerod Shock, horror, the oil price is over $100 a barrel. The [...]
How universities became a marketplace for academic slop

March 11, 2026

Pressure to publish papers mean universities have become awash with fake papers and scientific fraud, writes Paul Ormerod.
The cost of living crisis is the fault of the public sector, not billionaires

March 5, 2026

The Green's newest MP was quick to blame billionaires for the cost of living crisis. Has she looked at the public sector, asks Paul Ormerod.
Politicians and voters must wake up to reality of a zero growth economy

February 25, 2026

The past six years have been the worst period for growth in normal peace time since the start of the Industrial Revolution over 200 years ago, says Paul Ormerod The latest estimates from the Office of National Statistics show virtually no growth in the size of the economy in the period October to December 2025. [...]
A university education is no longer good value for money

February 18, 2026

Students have been turned into customers but the product they’re buying is worthless and it’s underwritten by the taxpayer, says Paul Ormerod The plight of graduates burdened with debt has been a prominent feature in the media over the past week or so. Hundreds of thousands will never earn enough to repay their student borrowings, [...]
Warnings on AI from the Industrial Revolution

February 11, 2026

The mechanisation of weaving in the 19th century didn’t just affect jobs, it led to years of political unrest culminating in the Peterloo Massacre. Leaders had better be ready for what’s coming with AI, says Paul Ormerod Last week the US AI company Anthropic released a tool which it says can automate legal work such [...]

‘Bond market tantrum risks’: Gilt traders brace for Labour leftward pivot as Starmer future uncertain

Manchester City: Sheikh Mansour faces calls for ban from English football over UAE links to genocide

The watch podcast disrupting the ‘pale, male and stale’ image

By: Paul Ormerod

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