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 196 Articles

If crises are the test of a nation, Western Europe is failing

March 12, 2025

The financial crisis and the pandemic have shown how modern Europe deals with crises. And it's not pretty, writes Paul Ormerod.
What ever happened to levelling up?

March 5, 2025

Levelling up has all but disappeared from the government's agenda. That's a big mistake for growth, writes Paul Ormerod.
The West has been free riding on US defence spending

February 25, 2025

The West has been free riding on US defence spending for decades. It's no surprise Trump is now calling us to account, writes Paul Ormerod.
I’m sorry Ed Miliband, your big green energy plan is all fantasy

February 12, 2025

Ed Miliband's green vision is admirable, but the history of energy consumption shows it is but a fantasy, writes Paul Ormerod.
Yes, AI will wipe out some jobs. But this is the story of progress

February 5, 2025

AI will inevitably make some jobs redundant, but the benefits to society are far worth it, writes Paul Ormerod.
Starmer must remember humans respond to incentives, not rules

January 29, 2025

Rules are important to any civilised society, but Starmer has forgotten that humans respond far better to incentives, writes Paul Ormerod.
Reeves has placed an uncertainty premium on the British economy

January 22, 2025

Rachel Reeves promised to restore economic stability, but the outcome of her various actions has been to increase uncertainty, says Paul Ormerod Daniel Ellsberg, who died in 2023 in his 90s, was a true Renaissance Man. After a stellar career as an economics student at Harvard, he served in the Marines before working for the [...]
Forget the big infrastructure projects, SMEs are the key to unlocking growth

January 15, 2025

Dear Chancellor, forget the big infrastructure projects. Boosting the productivity of SMEs is the key to growth, writes Paul Ormerod.
Lessons from the Gulag? Enemies of the people had entrepreneurial spirit

January 8, 2025

A study mapping the link between gulags and regional growth in Russia can teach us something about reviving our own left behind towns.
Recent Conservative governments have been more left wing than Attlee

December 17, 2024

Here’s a Christmas quiz: Which has been Britain’s most left-wing government? According to Paul Ormerod, it’s not the one you think…. The extended Christmas holidays loom. One way of filling the time is to think about crucial questions such as who is England’s greatest ever batsman, which football club side is the best the world [...]

Fifa boss Infantino defends 2026 World Cup ticket prices, citing demand

Fifa boss Infantino defends 2026 World Cup ticket prices, citing demand

London exhibitions 2026: From Tracey Emin to Anish Kapoor

By: Paul Ormerod

All 196 Articles

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