Economics Books

If you want to take an economy that's wholly dependent on fossil fuels and turn it into a low-carbon one it's going to be expensive, says economist Dieter Helm—and the sooner we face up to that reality the better. He recommends books to help us think through the relationship between economics and the environment, including one that really shines a spotlight on our own, individual behaviour.

The best way to run an economy remains one of the most challenging aspects for a country's leaders, with enormous consequences for people's well-being. Sergio de Ferra, a macroeconomist at the University of Oxford, introduces some of the ideas and debates, and explains why it's so hard to really know what works and what doesn't.

Problems in the world economy can have a profound impact on politics. What's happening in the US and elsewhere is disturbing, says Martin Wolf, chief economics commentator of the Financial Times. He talks us through books to help us reflect on the challenges facing economies. His recommendations include two books that query whether the era of unprecedented economic growth—which has transformed our societies over the last 150 years—is finally coming to an end.

"You have to understand people first before you can understand how to devise an economic system for them" argues Robert J Shiller, the Yale economics professor and Nobel laureate. He chooses five books that explore who we fundamentally are, as human beings, and how that will determine the shape of a successful capitalism.

Inflation has been under control in the developed world for decades now. Many assumed we had it beaten, but it has picked up recently and is once again a major policy concern. Here, Oxford economist Federica Romei chooses five books to help you understand inflation from a historical and theoretical perspective, and when, if and why you should worry about it.

Keynes biographer Robert Skidelsky recommends the best books about one of the most important economists of all time, John Maynard Keynes.

As we study the causes of economic prosperity over the millennia and particularly the last century-and-a-half, it's worth remembering that humans are always the most important driver of economic growth. Jason Furman, a Harvard economics professor and former adviser to Barack Obama, picks out five of the best economics books of 2022, as well as topics he'd like to see books about in 2023.

Game theory is marketed as a system you can apply to any sphere of life, but does it really have much to offer in terms of practical application? The distinguished game theorist, Ariel Rubinstein, suggests not. He recommends the best books on game theory.

Nearly every aspect of our life is determined by economics, and yet it’s easy to go through life understanding very little about it. Author and columnist Tim Harford (aka the ‘Undercover Economist’) introduces the best books to get you thinking like an economist.

Monetary policy isn't just about setting interest rates and if we think about it in those terms, we'll never really understand it, says Danish economist Lars Christensen. Here, he recommends books to better understand monetary policy, and explains why reading about the past is so important for avoiding mistakes in the future.