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 205 Articles

An information campaign on energy usage would have made a lot of economic sense

October 12, 2022

The prime minister’s apparent veto of a plan to persuade people to use less energy this winter has stirred up controversy. The usual rabble have been quick to decry Liz Truss for abdicating responsibility, following the old lines of those who wanted more or less restrictions during the pandemic. But economic theory can readily justify [...]
Our politicians must wake up to the public debt effect

October 5, 2022

In a novel by C.P. Snow, a physicist turned author who served as science minister under Harold Wilson in the 1960s, the master of a Cambridge college says that “gratitude isn’t an emotion, but the expectation of gratitude is a very lively one.” The prime minister and her Chancellor may well be having exactly the [...]
Low tax regimes only matter as much as their longevity

September 28, 2022

Ireland, of course, is an oft-cited pin up for low corporation tax. But it is an aggressive policy several decades in the making. They have been rewarded, with tech giants setting up shop there.
We’re hardwired to accept bumper salaries for sports stars but not our City bankers

September 21, 2022

In a bid to prove her free market credentials – and those of her chancellor – Liz Truss has widely trailed the idea of lifting the cap on bankers’ bonuses. Cue outrage from the usual quarters. At the same time, there was another headline in the Guardian on remuneration which might be thought would cause [...]
Strikes are a part of the bargaining process but many current jobs are on their way out

September 14, 2022

Strikes are a reasonable tool for workers to use, but for declining industries, they would be wise to focus on negotiation.
How Truss pays for her plan for energy prices is just as important as what she does

September 7, 2022

Our new prime minister already has a long list of detractors. Yet something many are failing to take notice of is how well she grasps the fundamental importance of generating economic growth. This is the central issue facing the economy and it will determine how, ultimately, we pay for an intervention in the energy market. [...]
Our scientists were given responsibility in the pandemic but no public accountability

August 31, 2022

LAST week, Rishi Sunak rehashed old wounds and stirred up more controversy over lockdowns during the height of the pandemic. The former Chancellor now says scientists were given too much power, where policy choices should have rested with those elected policy makers known as our leaders. Unlike most other government policies, there was little cost-benefit [...]
Spiralling energy prices are a powerful lesson for our future plans for green power

August 24, 2022

For most politicians and commentators, green taxes are firmly established as an unequivocally Good Thing. True, Liz Truss has called for green levies to be temporarily halted to help drive down energy bills. But even if the next prime minister does intervene, once world energy prices start to fall substantially, she would be under enormous [...]
Britain’s waistline won’t be slimmed by sugar taxes – they could even make it worse

August 3, 2022

Britain has an obesity problem – and it’s getting worse. According to a report from the King’s Fund think tank, the proportion of obesity in deprived areas is 37 per cent, up from 32 per cent three years ago. Theresa May’s government tried to curb obesity with the “soft drinks industry levy” in 2018 – [...]
As we look back on pandemic mistakes, we need to count livelihoods in our losses

July 27, 2022

MINISTERS don’t need to face the inquiry into the Covid-19 pandemic until next spring, the chair of the probe, Heather Hallet, announced this week. As part of its mandate, the inquiry will “listen to and consider carefully” the experiences of those who lost family members or “have suffered hardship or loss” as a result of [...]

Monzo slammed for ‘shaming’ end of year reviews

Fifa’s credibility is shot because it can’t decide what it wants to be

Ford Mustang Sutton CS800DH review: Taming a wild horse

By: Paul Ormerod

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