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Economics Reading List

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Economics Reading List Last updated: July 2015 Economics Reading List If you are interested in Economics then it usually means you are interested in the way it applies to the real world around you. You should keep up with the news, particularly when it involves key economic indicators or policies. Journalists frequently use concepts and vocabulary from Economics A Level, and reading the news regularly will help cement these ideas in your mind. Reading news-sources will also give you up to date macroeconomic data on things like inflation, unemployment and growth, as well as good examples of market failure such as monopoly power and negative externalities, as well as the government’s measures to deal with these. News-sources: The BBC news website is worth a daily visit, particularly the Economy tab. The blogs written by Robert Peston, Linda Yeuh and Kamel Ahmed are very good. Build in listening to the Today programme on Radio 4 (Mon - Sat 6:00am – 9:00am) into your morning routine. Subscribe to the Economist through the School offer. You are unlikely to read it cover to cover every week, but skim through for interesting articles and those that map on to topics you are studying. The Times, Guardian, Telegraph, and Independent all have good coverage of the economy. The Guardian and Telegraph on Saturday, and the Times on Sunday are particularly strong on economic news. Never, ever, read the Daily Mail. The Week – this is an excellent weekly magazine that presents the week’s news in brief. Economic Review, Economics Today – these are magazines available to A Level students through the School, and aimed specifically at an A Level audience. The newspapers listed above, plus the Economist, Economist Intelligent Life, and Prospect magazine are all available in the Sixth Form concourse. Pre-reading, and reading round the subject for A-Level: Reading around your subject in Economics is different to reading a novel, and different to reading a text book. With a novel you really are obliged to start at the beginning and work your way through the narrative to the end. With a textbook you are looking to gain very specific theory and knowledge that you didn’t know before, so you should take notes as you read. With general reading around economics though, neither of these two things apply. You can dip in and out, skip bits that don’t interest you, and don’t feel guilty or a failure if you don’t make it all the way through. However, it is worth making some very brief notes on your reading – in a notebook, or on post-its stuck to the book, or, if it belongs to you, in the margin. This has the benefit of being able to find that really interesting bit you remember when you’ve got to the end, and it will also help if you are going to mention your reaction to some of your reading in your Personal Statement for university. Top 7 for A Level Economists (plus one long, difficult one): The Undercover Economist strikes back – Tim Harford – a great place to start your reading around the subject. Accessible to GCSE students and upwards, it may date a little from 2016, but well worth a read to introduce or back up some key economic concepts in a very readable way. Last updated: July 2015 Economics: The User’s Guide – Ha Joon Chang – a clear explanation of the schools of economic thought, and an irrefutable argument that economics is a social rather than a pure science, and cannot be studied in a political or moral vacuum. 23 Things they don’t tell you about capitalism – Ha Joon Chang – a serious book by a serious academic, despite the title. Very easy to read; broken down as the title suggests into 23 short chapters. How Markets Fail – John Cassidy – a journey through the key ideas in economics, and those that discovered them. It’s a bit stodgy in places, but if you stick with it then it will really give you an insight into the thinkers whose ideas have ended up on your A Level syllabus. Worth briefly noting the ideas of Adam Smith, Keynes, Friedman, Pigou and Coase, all of whom turn up at A Level. (Add Walras and the Arrow-Debreu model if you feel like showing off to your teacher). The Spirit Level: Why more Equal Societies almost always do better – Wilkinson & Pickett. This should be required reading for anyone who votes! You may not like what it implies but it is hard to overturn the analysis. It may not be immediately obvious how this ties in to A Level economics, but it nails the inequality topic at A2, and helps with progressive taxation and market failure too. What Money can’t buy: The Moral Limits of Markets – Michael Sandel. Sandel’s critique that market thinking has crept into every corner of life, and that some things shouldn’t be thought of in terms of supply, demand and price. The Truth about Markets – John Kay – this was published more than 10 years ago now but is still fresh and relevant. It covers some similar ground to Cassidy’s book above, but offers a rigorous critique of free markets, as well as a powerful defence of the benefits they can bring. *******The long, difficult, but very worthwhile and very impressive one*********** Capital in the 21st Century – Thomas Piketty. Published in English in 2014 this is the most influential book in economics this century. It is rather long and at times complex, so is more suitable for reading in the second year of A Level, rather than before starting. The book describes the reasons for and ways of dealing with the increasing inequality in wealth and income. It is a hefty tome so it will be impressive if you read it, but as a minimum you should look for book reviews on this very influential book, or read the introduction and the first few chapters which are easy to read and good economic history lesson. The Financial Crisis of 2008, the subsequent recession and the eventual recovery. Many students have become attracted to the subject because of its newsworthy nature since 2008. The A Level Economics syllabus requires you to be aware of major Economic events in the last ten years. The best way to understand why and how the banking crisis started and how it tipped the world into recession is to sit back and watch the Last updated: July 2015 superlative documentary Inside Job (2010, director Charles Ferguson), narrated by Matt Damon. The following books are also good: The Big Short – Michael Lewis - an explanation of the collapse of the sub prime mortgage market and the venal behaviour of investment banks The Return of Depression Economics – Paul Krugman – an excellent explanation of the way under-regulated financial markets led to world recession, and how we might avoid this in future The Holy Grail of Macroeconomics: Lessons from Japan’s Great Recession by Richard C. Koo. Explanation of Japan’s wilderness years, largely through Koo’s idea of a ‘balance sheet recession’. This idea has become key to understanding the current extended period of low growth. Highly recommended by a succession of KES Oxbridge candidates. Boomerang – Travels in the New Third World – Michael Lewis – a very amusing look at the economies that got it very wrong leading up to the 2008 global recession Crisis Economics – Noriel Roubini – one of the few men able to say ‘I told you so’ about the global economic crisis of 2008. Similar territory to Krugman above. Too Big to Fail – Sorkin. The story of the rise and almost fall of the mega-banks. Lewis’ The Big Short (see above) is more entertaining though. Other extension reading around key topics: If you are interested in development economics, or what makes some countries rich and others not, then the following are worth a try: The Plundered Plant – Paul Collier The Bottom Billion – Paul Collier The Wealth and Poverty of Nations - David Landes. Long but masterful and at times controversial economic history of what makes some countries rich and others not. Read the intro to see if you like it Globalization and its Discontents – Joseph Stiglitz. Perhaps getting a little dated, but worth reading for the downside of globalisation Economics for a Crowded Planet – Jeffrey Sachs. ‘Behavioural Economics’ describes the branch of the subject that touches on the psychology of human decisions, and exposes the fact that we are not purely rational economic decision makers, as you supposed to assume at GCSE, A-Level, and indeed into some degree courses. The Art of Strategy – Dixit & Nalebuf – Game theory is inexplicably popular with students and university interviewers. Read this one as an introduction to game theory in everyday life. I think it goes on a bit, but others have found it fascinating. Happiness: Lessons from a new Science – Richard Layard – A brilliant book that debunks the idea that increasing GDP should be the prime goal of governments. Highly influential across the political spectrum, and it might even make you happier. Freakonomics – Levitt and Dubner. This book became so popular that there is now some academic snobbery against it, but it is still an interesting and easy read; just don’t mention it on your UCAS form. There are two sequels to the book, which you may prefer to read instead of the first, original. Nudge: Improving decisions about health, wealth and happiness – Thaler. An interesting idea, but once you get it, its more fun working out the applications for yourself The Logic of Life – Tim Harford Adapt; why success always starts with failure – Tim Harford Last updated: July 2015 The Undercover Economist – Tim Harford All Harford’s books are highly readable and introduces basic economic concepts into real world scenarios (see above for The Undercover Economist Strikes back) How we decide – Jonah Lehrer – looks at the link between neuro-science and economic decision making.
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