Economics Reading List: Recommended Books and Resources for A-Level and Beyond, Study notes of Economics

Download Economics Reading List: Recommended Books and Resources for A-Level and Beyond and more Study notes Economics in PDF only on Docsity! Last updated: December 2017 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 Business and Economy tabs. The blogs written by Kamal Ahmed and Simon Jack can be good. Build in listening to the Today programme on Radio 4 (Mon - Sat 6:00am – 9:00am) into your morning routine. This is the one single thing you can do that will make you a better informed economist. 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. 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 and Prospect magazines 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. Before we get on to the reading, it’s worth mentioning the best economics documentary ever made, the superlative y Inside Job (2010, director Charles Ferguson), narrated by Matt Damon, which explores the reasons behind the financial crisis of 2007 – 2009. Last updated: December 2017 Easy(ish) reads: Fifty Things that made the modern economy – Tim Harford - Tim is really good at sneaking in the economic theory without you realising it. This is just a fun book about the stories behind iconic objects like the iPhone. 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 (written 2013), but well worth a read to introduce or back up some key economic concepts in a very readable way. 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. There are some good Ted talks by Richard Wilkinson if reading is just too hard for you. 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. This is one for people interested in the overlap between economics and moral philosophy The Big Short – Michael Lewis - an explanation of the collapse of the sub prime mortgage market and the venal behaviour of investment banks A little more challenging: 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. Last updated: December 2017 Politics, some idea on Law, and finally just an excuse to spread the word on my favourite books. Politics In Defence of Politics – Bernard Crick The classic that all undergraduates read An introduction to Political Philosophy – Jonathan Wolff (PPE). Does what it says on the tin. Why Nations Fail – Acemoglu and Robinson – a great mix of politics, history and economics in the explanation of why some societies thrive, and others do not Post War – Tony Judt – comprehensive (ie long) but beautifully written history of post- war Europe. A worthy memorial to Judt who died this year. Ill fares the land – Tony Judt – Judt’s valedictory masterpiece. (much much shorter than the one above!). Political Thinkers: From Socrates to the present – by Boucher and Kelly. A good introduction to political thought Never Had it so Good – a history of Britain from Suez to the Beatles – Dominic Sandbrook – or indeed anything by this highly readable contemporary historian The New British Constitution – Vernon Bogdanor – an explanation of this mysterious beast The US Constitution – read it and see what you think. Philosophy On Liberty – JS Mill – the seminal text on liberalism Utilitarianism –for and against – Smart and Williams – this has been a required introductory text since I was a student, and it still is. Reading it will give you a good idea whether you want to study moral philosophy. What does it all Mean? – Thomas Nagel the man who famously asked whether we could ever know what it is like to be a bat Causing Death and Saving Lives – Jonathan Glover – moral philosophy for medics and everyone else Meditations – Descartes – not as difficult a read as you might think from the man who doubted everything before grasping at Cogito Ergo Sum Sophie’s World – Jostein Gaarder – a novel about the history of philosophy. Personally I found it contrived and rather laboured, but lots of people loved it. Law For constitutional law, see under politics Letters to a law student – Nick McBride – highly acclaimed (ie I haven’t read it) introduction to studying law at university The Law Machine – Berlins and Dyer – good basic introduction to how the law works, co-authored by Radio 4’s Law in Action presenter (worth using listen again to hear some of these) Just Law – Helena Kennedy – never read it, but Kennedy has an awesome reputation as liberal barrister East West Street – Philippe Sands – this explores the background behind the law on international human rights and genocide Last updated: December 2017 Novels, essays, memoirs that are just brilliant. I wish I’d read them earlier, and recommend them to you: The Catcher in the Rye – J D Salinger The Periodic Table – Primo Levi. Pure genius; mandatory for everyone studying Chemistry, and probably everyone else. All Quiet on the Western Front – Erich Maria Remarque If this is a Man – Primo Levi. 1984 – George Orwell Down and Out in Paris and London – Orwell The Road to Wigan pier – Orwell Essays - Orwell Our Mutual Friend – Charles Dickens The Great Gatsby – F Scott Fitzgerald. Catch 22 – Joseph Heller Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad The Go Between – L P Hartley Bonfire of the Vanities – Tom Wolfe Brave New World – Aldous Huxley Suite Francaise – Irene Nemirovsky The Midwich Cuckoos – John Wyndham Slaughterhouse Five – Kurt Vonnegut The Trial – Franz Kafka Brighton Rock – Graham Greene