Wider Reading and Study for Young Economists

Wider reading and study for young economists

First year courses in economics tend to be very focused: we introduce you to economic theory, methods and applications, usually taught from prescribed textbooks. Teaching, learning and assessment on these courses closely follows our specified course aims and objectives, which focus on specific skills and knowledge we expect you to acquire.

However, there is much to be gained by reading far more widely, and in a less ‘directed’ fashion (i.e. reading and learning to increase your depth and breadth of knowledge, rather than because you will be set an exam question on it!). The more widely you read now, the better prepared you will be intellectually for your career as an economist.

The following are my personal suggestions for reading (and various other things) you might like to pursue, that will complement your formal studies. Your personal tutor might have further suggestions – you could discuss this with them at your next meeting.

Books:

Akerlof, G.A. (1984) An economic theorist’s book of tales. Oxford University Press. [not currently in the library; I am requesting it be purchased]

Backhouse, R. (2002) The Penguin History of Economics. London: Penguin [library shelfmark 330.09BAC]

Becker, G. S. (1976) The economic approach to human behaviour. University of Chicago press. [library shelfmark 301.0133 BEC]

Friedman, M., Friedman, R. (1980) Free to choose: a personal statement. London: Secker and Warburg [library shelfmark 330.122FRI]

Galbraith, J. K. (1985) The affluent society London: Penguin [library shelfmark 330.973GAL]

Galbraith, J.K. (1987) A history of economics: the past as the present. London: Hamilton [library shelfmark 330.09GAL]

Granger, C. (1999) Empirical modelling in economics. Cambride University Press. [library shelfmark 330.015118GRA]

Smith, A. (1887) An inquiry into the nature and causes ofthe wealth of nations. Nelson. [library shelfmark 330SMI]

Stigler, G. (1982) The economist as preacher. Basil Blackwell. [not currently in the library; I am requesting it be purchased]

Stiglitz, J. (2003) Globalisation and its discontents. London:Penguin [library shelfmark 337STI]

Journals in economics.

You are probably familiar with The Economist and other such publications. Reading magazines like the Economist is a good way to keep up to date with contemporary developments in the world. However, the ‘big’ developments in economic theory and research are not published there, but in academic journals such as the American Economic Review and the Journal of Political Economy (to name but two). You need to become familiar with the journals in economics: as you proceed through your degree you will increasingly be referred to journal articles rather than textbooks as your source of reading. If you haven’t already done so, go to the library and find out where the journals are kept. Learn to use the library’s electronic resources to search for and locate journal articles. You may find many of these articles difficult to read at the moment, but the sooner you become familiar with searching and using economics journals, the better off you will be when it comes to your second and third years of study at City.

Here are just a few journal articles (quite famous ones, on strange topics) you might like to look at to get you started:

Waldfogel, J. (1993) The deadweight economic loss of Christmas. American Economic Review 83 (5).

Bell, F.W. (1968) The pope and the price of fish. American Economic Review. pp.1346-1350.

Cheung, S. (1973) The fable of the bees: an empirical investigation. Journal of Law and Economics 11-33.

Nobel prize winners in Economics

What do Amartya Sen, George Akerlof, John Nash, Gary Becker and Kenneth Arrow have in common? All have been awarded a Nobel Prize in Economics. A list of those who have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics is available at

together with an autobiography and the prize lecture given by each. Familiarise yourself with the distinctive contributions each of these prize winners has made to the discipline of economics.

Interesting (but eccentric) economics-related things to do in London:

Visit Jeremy Bentham’s ‘auto icon’ (preserved body) at the University College of London. [click here for details about Bentham and the Utilitarians]

Visit Karl Marx’s cemetery in Highgate Cemetery. Read about Marx at or one of the many other websites you will find via Google.

Nancy Devlin

September 2004