Reading list for students entering into their First Year

The programme at Level 1 does not rely on one particular text book for each module, with the exception being Understanding Business and Financial Information (see below). The lists below are hence indicative of the text books that will feed into the modules at Level 1.

Module: Microeconomics

Sloman, J. (2009). Economics, London: Pearson.

Goodwin, N., Nelson, J., Ackerman, F. and Weisskopf, T., (2008). Microeconomics in Context, New York: ME Sharpe.

Jacques, I. (2003). Mathematics for Economics and Business, London: Addison-Wesley.

Bradley, T. (2010) Essential Mathematics forEconomics and Business, London: Wiley.

Morris, C. (1995). Essential Mathematics: A Refresher Course for Business and Social Studies, London: Macmillan.

Soper, J. (1999). Mathematics for Economics and Business, Oxford: Blackwell

Module: Macroeconomics

Sloman, J. (2009). Economics, London: Financial Times-Prentice Hall.

Gartner, M. (2009). Macroeconomics, London: Financial Times-Prentice Hall.

Goodwin, N., Nelson, J. and Harris, J. (2008). Macroeconomics in Context, New York: ME Sharpe.

Burda, M. and Wyplosz, C. (2009). Macroeconomics: A European Text, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Begg, D., Fischer, S. and Dornbusch, S. (2011). Macroeconomics, New York: McGraw-Hill.

Bradley, T. (2010). Essential Mathematics for Economics and Business, London: Wiley.

Module: Statistics and Data Management

Bradley, T. (2010). Essential Statistics for Economics, Business and Management, London: Wiley.
Bryman, A. and Bell, E. (2011). Business Research Methods, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Barrow, M. (2001). Statistics for Economics, Accounting and Business Studies, London: Pearson

Module: Developing Economic Thinking

Boumans, M. and Davis, J. (2010). Economic Methodology: Understanding Economics as a Science, London: Palgrave.

Burns, T. and Sinfield, S. (2008). Essential study skills: the complete guide to success at university, Sage

Hart, C. (1998) Doing a Literature Review: Releasing the Social Science Research Imagination, London: Sage

Hall, P. (1989). The political power of economic ideas: Keynesianism across the nations, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Harrison, M. (2005). Introduction to Business & Management Ethics, London: Palgrave.

Locke, L.F., Silverman, S.J. & Spirduso, W.W. (1998). Reading and Understanding Research, London: Sage.

Whitley, R. (2000). The Intellectual and Social Organization of the Sciences, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Module: Becoming a Practical Economist

Burns, T. Sinfield, S. (2008). Essential study skills: the complete guide to success at university, Sage

Cottrell, S. (2008). The Study Skills Handbook - Palgrave Study Guides, London: Palgrave Macmillan

Cottrell, S (2011). Critical Thinking Skills: Developing Effective Analysis and Argument - Palgrave Study Skills, London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Cottrell, S (2010). Skills for Success: The Personal Development Planning Handbook - Palgrave Study Skills, London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Module: Understanding Business and Financial Information

RECOMMENDED TEXT IS McLaney, E. and Atrill, P. (2010): Accounting: An Introduction (5th Edition). Prentice Hall.

Below is a list of other Books you might like to read over the summer break (read only one or two at most!).

Daniel Kahneman

'Thinking, Fast and Slow'– Nobel Prize winner and behavioural economist.
George A. Akerlof and Robert J. Shiller

'Animal Spirits: How Human Psychology Drives the Economy, and Why It Matters for Global Capitalism' (New in Paper, 2010) Paperback selling at around £7 new on Amazon. Relates to financial crisis and behavioral economics.
Dan Ariely

'Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces that Shape Our Decisions'
Nassim Nicholas Taleb

'The Black Swan', Penguin 2007. Talks about statistics and how models are incorrect in assuming outliers are highly unlikely to occur.He book has important implications for risk strategy and assessment.
Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner

'Superfreakonomics' and/or 'Freakonomics',

Larry Elliot & Dan Atkinson:

Fantasy Island;

The Gods that Failed: how blind faith in markets has cost us our future.

Tim Harford

The Undercover Economist

The Logic of Life

Why success starts with failure

Joseph Stiglitz

Economics for a crowded planet

Making Globalisation Work

Diane Coyle

Sex, Drugs and Economics

The Soulful Economist

The Economics of Enough

Edmund Conway

50 Economic Ideas: You Really Need to Know

John Kay

The Truth about Markets

Paul Collier

The Bottom Billion

The Plundered Planet: How to reconcile Prosperity with Nature

Other reading

As an undergraduate of economics it is important that you keep up to date with developments across the world – to this end please get in the habit of reading at least one of the following national papers

  • Financial Times,
  • Guardian,
  • Independent,
  • The Times,
  • The Telegraph,
  • Observer,
  • Independent on Sunday
  • The Sunday Times.

Both the Observer and the Sunday Times usually offer good in-depth analysis of current events (e.g. the Sovereign Debt problems confronting Europe and food price spikes).

Useful Websites

Most of the above national newspapers can be viewed online for free. Other websites that economists should be familiar with include: