Economics Books

"The Rational Optimist" is an ideal read for those who want to understand the positive progress human beings have made as a species. The book argues against pessimism and doubts about the future, using historical data to show that while past obstacles have been overcome, future challenges can also be tackled with the same human spirit of innovation and progress. Ridley's style is engaging and a must-read for those who want to be inspired and hopeful about the future.

Small Is A Study of Economics As If People Mattered is a collection of essays by British economist E. F. Schumacher. The phrase "Small Is Beautiful" came from a phrase by his teacher Leopold Kohr.

This book is perfect for individuals interested in global politics and world history. It provides a comprehensive analysis of the reasons why the West has been the world leader for over 200 years. Ian Morris presents a unique perspective by drawing on 15,000 years of history to offer fresh insights and predictions about the future. It is a well-researched and fascinating read that sheds light on the dynamics of global superpowers.

Hillbilly Elegy could be a good read for someone who wants to understand the struggles of America's working class and the impact of generational neglect. The author shares his personal story of growing up in poverty and struggling with abuse and trauma, while also addressing broader social and political issues. The book has been praised for its frank and unflinching portrayal of a segment of society often overlooked by mainstream media.

The idea of freedom is at the heart of our political and economic systems. It is foundational to our democracy, our way of life - our very conception of what it is to be human. But are we free in the way that we think we are?In Creating Freedom, Raoul Martinez compellingly dismantles the sacred myth of freedom, showing that our belief that our institutions are free, even our sense of ourselves as agents of free will, is all based on false understanding. From the lottery of our birth, to the coercive influence of our media, to the self-reinforcing, consent-manufacturing realities of power and money, this far-reaching manifesto fiercely demonstrates just how differently we would act if we accepted how the world really is.It shows that freedom is not something we are given; it is not even something we can easily take. But with empathy, imagination, and determination - it is something we can create.

This book is for those who want to gain a deep understanding of poverty and its complexities. Through real-life stories and research, the authors shed light on the daily struggles of the poor, their decision-making processes, and the impact of poverty on their lives. This book offers practical solutions and a fresh perspective on how we can effectively end poverty. Prepare to be inspired and challenged as you embark on a journey to rethink poverty and explore ways to make a positive change in the world.

"Predictably Irrational" explains why we make irrational decisions and how they are predictable. The book is well-researched and written in a relatable, easy-to-understand language. It's a great read for anyone who wants to gain insights into their decision-making process and take control of their behavior. The most unique feature of the book is its ability to seamlessly blend academic research and real-life examples to provide readers with a practical guide to understanding their irrational choices.

Broadly defining power as the ability to get what we want, this volume - new in paper - identifies three major types of power: threat power, which is particularly important in political life; economic power, which derives from the power to produce and exchange goods and depends on the changing distribution of property ownership; and integrative power, which rests on relationships such as love, legitimacy, respect, affection, community and identity. Boulding argues that threat power should not be seen as fundamental since it is not effective unless reinforced by economic and integrative power.

The Paradox of Choice could be a helpful read for someone who finds themselves overwhelmed and anxious when faced with an abundance of choices. The author delves into the negative effects of too much choice in multiple areas of life, including shopping, career, and personal relationships. By providing practical steps to limit choices and focus on what is truly important, readers may feel empowered to make decisions with more ease and confidence. The author's counter-intuitive argument encourages readers to embrace limitations and simplify their lives, ultimately leading to greater satisfaction and well-being.

This book is an eye-opener for anyone interested in the long-term evolution of inequality and economic growth. Piketty's careful analysis of historical data shows that, while modern growth has decreased inequality, structural issues still need to be addressed. His arguments are sure to spark debate and are especially relevant in today's economic climate.

The Origins of Political Order by Francis Fukuyama is an insightful and comprehensive analysis of the development of political systems throughout history. Fukuyama explores the evolution of political systems, tracing the origins of institutions and ideas that shaped society as we know it today. By examining the paths that different societies have taken, this magisterial study provides readers with a better understanding of the origins of political order and how it affects society today. Readers interested in history, politics and anthropology would find this book informative and thought-provoking.

"Rise of the Robots" provides a thought-provoking and well-reasoned argument on how rapid technological advancements could lead to mass unemployment. The book is recommended for individuals who are interested in understanding how artificial intelligence could fundamentally change the labor market and our economy, and want to be equipped with knowledge and ideas for potential solutions to ensure future prosperity."

Intolerance and bigotry lie at the heart of all human suffering. So claims Bertrand Russell at the outset of In Praise of Idleness, a collection of essays in which he espouses the virtues of cool reflection and free inquiry; a voice of calm in a world of maddening unreason. From a devastating critique of the ancestry of fascism to a vehement defense of 'useless' knowledge, with consideration given to everything from insect pests to the human soul, this is a tour de force that only Bertrand Russell could perform.

Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves - and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives - and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization, and helped make us who we are.

The Road to Serfdom is a must-read for anyone interested in political philosophy, intellectual and cultural history, and economics. This book explores the dangers of state control over the means of production, and how the collectivist idea of empowering government with increasing economic control would inevitably lead not to utopia but to the horrors of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. F.A. Hayek's timeless meditation on the relation between individual liberty and government authority is an arresting call to all well-intentioned planners and socialists, democrat and liberal at heart to stop, look and listen.

The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire. Just as a single sick person can start an epidemic of the flu, so too can a small but precisely targeted push cause a fashion trend, the popularity of a new product, or a drop in the crime rate. This widely acclaimed bestseller, in which Malcolm Gladwell explores and brilliantly illuminates the tipping point phenomenon, is already changing the way people throughout the world think about selling products and disseminating ideas.

Author Q&A with Tim Harford [image] So are you an economic missionary, or is this just something that you love to do? It began as something that I love to do--and I think I am now starting to get a sense of it being a mission. People can use economics and they can use statistics and numbers to get at the truth and there is a real appetite for doing so. This is such a BBC thing to say--there’s almost a public service mission to be fulfilled in educating people about economics. When I wrote The Undercover Economist, it was all about my pure enthusiasm for the subject; the book is full of stuff I wanted to say and that is always the thing with the books: they are always such fun to write. Do you think that people these days are generally more economically literate? People are now aware of economics for various reasons. There are the problems with the economy--there is always more interest in economics when it is all going wrong. Where is the border line in your new book between economics and sociology? I don’t draw a border line, and particularly not with the new book. The Undercover Economist was basically all the cool economics I could think of and The Logic of Life was me investigating a particular part of economics. All of the references in The Logic of Life were academic economics papers that I had related--and hopefully made more fun. This new book, Adapt, is very different. I have started by asking what is wrong with the world, what needs fixing, how does it work--and if economics can tell us something about that (which it can) then I have used it. And if economics is not the tool that you need--if you need to turn to sociology or engineering or biology or psychology--I have, in fact, turned to all of them in this book. If that’s what you need, then that’s where I have gone. So I have written this book in a different way: I started with a problem and tried to figure out how to solve it. What specific subjects do you tackle? To be a bit more specific, the book is about how difficult problems get solved and I look at quick change; the banking crisis; poverty; innovation, as I think there is an innovation slow-down; and the war in Iraq. Also, I look at both problems in business and in everyday life. Those are the big problems that I look at--and my conclusion is that these sorts of problems only ever get solved by trial and error, so when they are being solved, they are being solved through experimentation, which is often a bottom-up process. When they are not being solved it is because we are not willing to experiment, or to use trial and error. Do you think companies will change to be much more experimental, with more decisions placed in the hands of employees? I don’t think that is necessarily a trend, and the reason is that the market itself is highly experimental, so if your company isn’t experimental it may just happen to have a really great, successful idea--and that’s fine; if it doesn’t, it will go bankrupt. But that said, it is very interesting to look at the range of companies who have got very into experimentation--they range from the key-cutting chain Timpson’s to Google; you can’t get more different than those two firms, but actually the language is very similar; the recruitment policies are similar; the way the employees get paid is similar. The “strap line” of the book is that “Success always starts with failure.” You are a successful author… so what was the failure that set you up for success? I was working on a book before The Undercover Economist… it was going to be a sort of Adrian Mole/Bridget Jones’ Diary-styled fictional comedy, in which the hero was this economist and through the hilarious things that happened to him, all these economic principles would be explained--which is a great idea--but the trouble is that I am not actually funny. Another example would be my first job as a management consultant… and I was a terrible management consultant. I crashed out after a few months. Much better that, than to stick with the job for two or three years-- a lot of people say you have got to do that to “show your commitment.” Taking the job was a mistake--why would I need to show my commitment to a mistake? Better to realise you made a mistake, stop and do something else, which I did. That idea that “failure breeds success” is central to most entrepreneurs. Do you think we need more of it in the UK? I think that the real problem is not failure rates in business; the problem is failure rates in politics. We need a much higher failure rate in politics. What actually happens is politicians--and this is true of all political parties--have got some project and they’ll say, “Right, we are going to do this thing,” and it is quite likely that idea is a bad idea--because most ideas fail; the world is complicated and while I don’t have the numbers for this, most ideas are, as it turns out, not good ideas. But they never collect the data, or whatever it is they need to measure, to find out where their idea is failing. So they have this bad idea, roll this bad idea out and the bad idea sticks, costs the country hundreds, millions, or billions of pounds, and then the bad idea is finally reversed by the next party on purely ideological grounds and you never find out whether it really worked or not. So we have this very, very low willingness to collect the data that would be necessary to demonstrate failure, which is the bit we actually need. To give a brief example: Ken Livingstone, as Mayor of London, came along and introduced these long, bendy buses. Boris Johnson came along and said, “If you elect me, I am going to get rid of those big bendy buses and replace them with double-decker buses.” He was elected and he did it, so… which one of them is right? I don’t know. I mean, isn’t that crazy? I know democracy is a wonderful thing and we voted for Ken Livingstone and we voted for Boris Johnson, but it would be nice to actually have the data on passenger injury rates, how quickly people can get on and off these buses, whether disabled people are using these buses… the sort of basic evidence you would want to collect. Based on that, are you a supporter of David Cameron’s “Big Society”, which in a sense favours local experimentation over central government planning? Well, I have some sympathy for the idea of local experimentation, but what worries me is that we have to have some mechanism that is going to tell you what is working and what is not--and there is no proposal for that. Cameron’s Tories seem to have the view that ‘if it is local then it will work.’ In my book, I have all kinds of interesting case studies of situations where localism really would have worked incredibly well, as in, say, the US Army in Iraq. But I have also got examples of where localism did not work well at all--such as a corruption-fighting drive in Indonesia. Is the new book, Adapt, your movement away from economic rationalist to management guru? Are you going to cast your eye over bigger problems? The two changes in Adapt are that I have tried to start with the problem, rather than saying, “I have got a hammer--I’m going to look for a nail.” I started with a nail and said, “Ok, look, I need to get this hammered in.” So I have started with the problem and then looked anywhere for solutions. And the second thing is that I have tried to do is write with more of a narrative. This is not a Malcolm Gladwell book, but I really admire the way that people like Gladwell get quite complex ideas across because they get you interested in the story; that is something that I have tried to do more of here. I am not too worried about it, because I know that I am never going to turn into Malcolm Gladwell--I am always going to be Tim Harford--but it doesn’t hurt to nudge in a certain direction. On Amazon, we recommend new book ideas to people: “If you like Tim Harford you may like…”, but what does Tim Harford also like? I read a lot of books, mostly non-fiction and in two categories: people who I think write a lot better than I do, and people who think about economics more deeply than I do. In the first category I am reading people like Michael Lewis, Kathryn Schulz (I loved her first book, Being Wrong), Malcolm Gladwell and Alain de Botton. In the second category, I read lots of technical economics books, but I enjoy Steven Landsburg, Edward Glaeser (who has a book out now which looks good), Bill Easterly… I don’t necessarily agree with all of these people! When I am not reading non-fiction, I am reading comic books or 1980s fantasy authors like Jack Vance.

Freakonomics challenges conventional thinking with unconventional data analysis, uncovering surprising truths about society's hidden side. Recommended for those seeking a fresh perspective on the world.