Ask HN: What is the best Economics read?

#1

Post by uast23 » Sun, Jan 08, 2012, 2:45 PM UTC

Which books/online lectures etc would you recommend to understand detailed Economics like how it works locally/globally, GDP, debt, govt bonds etc

Re: Ask HN: What is the best Economics read?

#2

Post by SuperChihuahua » Sun, Jan 08, 2012, 3:58 PM UTC

I think it is Economics in one lesson you should begin with. Its available for free here: http://mises.org/books/economics_in_one_lesson_hazlitt.pdf

It's a classic and easy to read.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best Economics read?

#3

Post by brudgers » Sun, Jan 08, 2012, 6:15 PM UTC

The Economist magazine.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best Economics read?

#4

Post by pestaa » Sun, Jan 08, 2012, 7:33 PM UTC

brudgers wrote: post #3

The Economist magazine.

How far does one have to dig down in the archive to understand the basics?

Re: Ask HN: What is the best Economics read?

#5

Post by brudgers » Sun, Jan 08, 2012, 7:41 PM UTC

pestaa wrote: post #4

brudgers wrote: post #3

The Economist magazine.

How far does one have to dig down in the archive to understand the basics?

A year's subscription is probably enough.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best Economics read?

#6

Post by coryl » Sun, Jan 08, 2012, 8:25 PM UTC

Not sure if you're into it, but an entry level economics class at your local college / university. You'll learn how to draw supply and demand curves, different ways of calculating GDP, how oligopolies and monopolies curves look, etc.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best Economics read?

#7

Post by a_a_r_o_n » Mon, Jan 09, 2012, 1:26 AM UTC

Investopedia has tutorials, including a small handful on economics. A quick way to get oriented before studying further and deeper.

http://www.investopedia.com/university/

Re: Ask HN: What is the best Economics read?

#8

Post by ahsanhilal » Mon, Jan 09, 2012, 5:39 PM UTC

It really depends on what level of Economics understanding you currently possess. For a complete newbie to economics, I would definitely recommend:

http://www.amazon.com/Principles-Economics-N-Gregory-Mankiw/...

It is a solid book, and you cannot go wrong with it. However, if you want a more thorough understanding of economics, with the mathematics laid out etc. then there are other more advanced economics text for that. Also, I think, given the topics you highlighted, you want to understand more about Macroeconomics, as such these MIT lectures might help:

http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/economics/

Also, remember is Economics, like in any subject, there is wide diversity of viewpoints. The best way to choose a side, I feel, is to really look deep into the a topic, delve a bit into the math and make informed decisions as to what gels with your point of view. Ping me if you need any more resources

Re: Ask HN: What is the best Economics read?

#9

Post by malandrew » Tue, Jan 10, 2012, 1:49 AM UTC

I highly recommend a commonly ignored part of economics and that is the economics of goods with zero marginal cost of production. The two key texts in this area are:

Yochai Benkler's "The Wealth of Networks" -- This text is a bit dated (2005) and the first two chapters couldn't be more dry and boring, but after that the economic discussion in the book about how economics changes when the marginal cost of product reaches zero or near-zero is fascinating.

Hal Varian's "Information Rules" -- This book covers the same ground at Yochai's book, but is less academic in tone. FYI, Varian is Google's chief economist.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best Economics read?

#10

Post by uast23 » Tue, Jan 10, 2012, 9:31 AM UTC

SuperChihuahua wrote: post #2

I think it is Economics in one lesson you should begin with. Its available for free here: http://mises.org/books/economics_in_one_lesson_hazlitt.pdf It's a classic and easy to read.

Pretty small text :). Going to begin with it.