Economics Books

Economists have offered two contrasting explanations of what money is and what it is for. For a long time, its function as a commodity, a store of value and a medium of exchange dominated economics textbooks. But, as Professor Samuel A. Chambers explains, understanding money as something closer to credit is more convincing and supported by other social sciences and what we've learned from the 2008 financial crisis.

Despite the large number of brands, most Americans buy their beer from just two companies. Consumer choice in the new digital economy is hardly better. Economist Jason Furman, chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under Barack Obama and now a professor at Harvard, recommends books to better understand market competition.

The 2007 Nobel Economics Prize winner says that, contrary to popular perception, economic theory did a good job of predicting the financial crisis, it's just that no one was paying any attention. Eric Maskin talks us through four journal articles and one book on 'economic theory and the financial crisis.'

With hindsight, was the euro a good idea? Will it come through the present crisis intact or will any country decide to leave? And what happens if they do? Economist Barry Eichengreen recommends the best books on the euro.

As we try to make the world a better place, how does a measure that started as a way of mobilizing for war in the 17th century help? Can it be improved on? Financial Times journalist David Pilling talks us through the best books to think about gross domestic product, or GDP.

In this latest book, Spending Time, distinguished labour economist Daniel Hamermesh looks at how we spend time, our 'most valuable resource.' Here he suggests books worth spending your valuable time on this holiday, including an introductory economics textbook.

Great books can introduce kids to economics at a young age, says Rutgers University economics professor Yana van der Meulen Rodgers. Here she picks some lovely story books for 5-10 year olds and explains the key economic concepts they illustrate.

The sociologist Will Davies discusses five of the best books about moral economy: the study of norms, values, principles and ethics within the space of the economy.

From a book about applying game theory to public policy to an account of how modern management practices were first developed on slave plantations, it's been another good year for interesting and accessible economics books. Cambridge professor Diane Coyle talks us through her selection of the best economics books of 2018.

With an array of intriguing and accessible books coming out, there's no excuse not to be reading about economics. The 'Enlightened Economist,' Diane Coyle, recommends the best economics books that hit the shelves this past year.