I am frequently asked by students “what should I read if I want to be a better (economist/student/human being)?” The glib answer is “anything you think is interesting.” However, what students seem to be really looking for are books or articles that I found profound or insightful. I do have a few recommendations, I present here in no particular order.
Mathematics and Philosophy
- Velleman, D. J. (2019). How to prove it: A structured approach. Cambridge University Press.
- This book, without exaggeration, changed my life. I really struggled with math, all through introductory calculus and I hit a wall taking a first course in proof. I was recommended this small book, which goes over standard proof techniques and approaches. It dramatically changed my perspective on how mathematics works, and showed me that math was actually rewarding and fun.
- Lakatos, I. (2015). Proofs and refutations: The logic of mathematical discovery. Cambridge university press.
- This is an excellent counterpart to How to prove it, and discuss the deeper roles of proof and analysis in mathematics. It profoundly changed how I think about scientific knowledge and mathematics. I wish I had read this much earlier in my life, since I think it would have changed my perspective on theory. Strongly recommended for anyone interested in economic theory, mathematics, or the study of knowledge.
Economics
- Goeree, J. K., & Holt, C. A. (2001). Ten little treasures of game theory and ten intuitive contradictions. American Economic Review, 91(5), 1402-1422.
- This is a simple paper, but a very good one. It presents ten simple models from game theory, and shows conditions when they work and when they don’t work. The beauty is in the “why?” Goeree and Holt leave it up to the reader to speculate. Trying to understanding why these conditions cause models to succeed or fail is a profound starting point for an exploration of economic theory.
- Smith, V. L. (1962). An experimental study of competitive market behavior. Journal of political economy, 70(2), 111-137 and Smith, V. L., Suchanek, G. L., & Williams, A. W. (1988). Bubbles, crashes, and endogenous expectations in experimental spot asset markets. Econometrica: Journal of the Econometric Society, 1119-1151.
- This pair of papers is a wonderful introduction to one of the most important insights in economics: price theory. The role of prices and how they are created in markets is both immediately interesting, fun to play with, and extremely deep. Predictable and unpredictable behaviours in simple experimental markets suggest many deep places to start exploring core ideas in economics.
- Hayek, F. A. (1945). The use of knowledge in society. The American Economic Review, 35(4), 519-530.
- The most-cited paper in economics. Published in 1945 but still very readable and relevant, it lays the basis for price theory (among other things). Most of contemporary economics can be viewed as a reaction to the program laid out in this paper. You cannot understand modern economics without understanding Hayek, regardless of whether you agree or disagree with his conclusions.
- Rodrik, D. (2015). Economics rules: The rights and wrongs of the dismal science. WW Norton & Company.
- A short but excellent book outlining how economics thinks about itself (at least as of 2015). Entirely non-technical, Rodrik’s book outlines the methodology of contemporary economics, and how it succeeds and fails. Required reading for all undergraduate economics students, lest you graduate with a warped sense of the discipline.
- McCloskey, D. N. (1983). The rhetoric of economics. Journal of economic literature, 21(2), 481-517.
- Have you ever been frustrated by the phrase “economic intuition?” What about the use of math in economics? I have, I think McCloskey agrees. In this article (and the associated book), McCloskey scathingly lays bare the implicit assumptions and structure of how economics (post-Friedman) argues. Provocative, insightful, and challenging (especially to those of us with PhDs), it is definitely required reading for people interested in the roads less-traveled in economics.
- Leopold, A. (2020). A sand county almanac: And sketches here and there. Oxford University Press, Incorporated.
- “I have never met an economist who knows draba, but if I were one I should do all my economic pondering lying prone on the sand, with draba at nose-length.” A profound cornerstone of the modern environmental movement, A Sand County Almanac poses many interesting questions and challenges for economists, especially those in Canada.
Fiction
- TBD
Miscellany
- TBD
(Last updated: 2024-12-31)