Tufts Economics Society

Who Gets What and Why, by Alvin Roth “About market design, the topic he got the Nobel Prize for in 2012 – very readable and important stuff in it!” The Chicago Guide to Writing About Numbers, by Jane E. Miller “Every econ student (end every professional economist and finance person too) should get this and read it. Get the first edition (used) if the second edition looks too expensive: it’s a really valuable tool for making your writing professional, clear and effective.” Triumph of the City, by Edward Glaeser “Why cities are our greatest invention – entertaining as well as full of challenging ideas about the places we live all over the world.”

The Worldly Philosophers: The Lives, Times and Ideas of the Great Economics Thinkers, by Robert L. Heilbroner “The great thinkers covered in this book include Smith, Malthus, Ricardo, Marx, Veblen, Schumpeter, and Keynes. I read this as an undergraduate and became excited about the thinking that led to models I was studying in my economic theory classes. It is still in print 63 years after it was first published.” A Random Walk Down Wall Street, by Burton G. Malkiel “A classic review of investment history and theory that remains relevant and in print (11th edition!) I read this about the time I began graduate school and was disabused of the notion that I was likely to beat the market by picking individual stocks.” Rational Choice: The Constrast between Economics and Psychology, edited by Robin Hogarth and Melvin Reder “This is a collection of papers from a 1985 conference that explored the successes and failures of the rationality assumption in economics. I read it shortly after joining the faculty at Tufts and it was my first exposure to what is now called behavioral economics.”

The Elusive Quest for Growth, by Willian Easterly “Focuses on macro issues (e.g. economic growth).” Poor Economics, by Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee “Focuses more on micro issues (health, educationa, microfinance and more).” Economics Rule: The Rights and Wrongs of the Dismal Science, by Dani Rodrik “Rodrik’s book is just out and is a great summary of what works in economics, what doesn’t work in economics and is mostly upbeat about the profession as a whole.”

The Prize, by Daniel Yergin “A detailed and very readable history of the oil industry in the United States. It blends institutional detail with a clear focus on the economics of the industry.” Showdown at Gucci Gulch, by Jeffrey Birnbaum and Alan Murray “The Tax Reform Act of 1986 was the most significant tax reform of the past fifty years and one that most closely embodied economic principles. Yet it almost collapsed under the weight of political infighting. This book captures the drama of the lobbying and dealmaking that went on behind the scenes. Important for anyone wanting to understand real world policy making.” The Climate Casino, by William Nordhaus “Nordhaus is one of the leading researchers on climate change and developed the DICE model for economic analysis of climate change. His model is available to researchers and is a great tool for projects on climate change. His book describes the climate problem and uses the DICE model to explore the implications of unchecked climate change as well as the possibilities for solving the problem.” The Unwiding, by George Packer “Shines a light on the human costs of rising income inequality and the Great Recession.” Something for Nothing, by Michael Klein “I can’t say it has influenced my thinking greatly but it is a fun read by a Tufts economist. Klein’s novel follows the (mis)fortunes of a young assistant professor chasing the golden rings of publication and tenure.”

Predictably Irrational, by Dan Ariely “This is a great light read for those who are interested in behavioral economics. It talks about a number of well document behavioral biases that economists observe in a non-technical way.” Nudge, by Cass Sunstein and Dick Thaler “This is great light read for those interested in how behavioral economics can be used to change the behaviors people engage in. It talks about how to “nudge” people into making better decisions (e.g. eating better).” The Science of Giving: Experimental Approaches to the Study of Charity “This is a more technical book about a number of studies that explore why people give to charity.”

The Federal Reserve and the Financial Crisis, by Ben S. Bernanke “This is a book every person even with a passing interest in economics. I recommend it after taking EC12.” Market Structure and Foreign Trade, by Helpman and Krugman “This book completely restates international trade theory in a unified framework.” Understanding the Gender Gap, by Claudia Goldin “This book is a seeping look at over 200 years of wage history. Goldin brings together economic theory and extensive original data to trace the history of women and paid labor.”

Poor Economics, by Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee “Banerjee and Duflo are among the most prominent development economists today, and as co-founders of JPAL at MIT, leading proponents of the use of randomized controlled trials in economics. They offer a view on what has been learned, primarily through these methods, about the lives of poor people throughout the developing world, on subjects including health, education, family planning, and finance. (See also The Great Escape by Angus Deaton, whose methodological perspective is quite different.)” Nature’s Metropolis, by William Cronon “This isn’t an economics book per se – it’s an economic and environmental history of the city of Chicago in the 19th century and its relationship to the rest of the northern midwest. A very important part of this relationship involved flows of natural resources such as lumber, livestock and grain into the city and manufactured goods out of it, mostly on rails and rivers. As an urban and regional economist interested in the urbanization and transportation in the developing world today, I find his take on this interchange and the role of the city fascinating.” The Prize, by Daniel Yergin “This is another history book, about the oil industry from its beginnings in Western Pennsylvania in the 1850s to the 1990-91 Gulf War. In addition to the personalities (Rockefeller) and the politics, Yergin adds some color to the economics of the industry, fleshing out on the causes and consequences of the many large swings in the oil price. He makes an effective case for oil’s important role in global affairs in the 20th century.”

Poor Economics, by Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee “This book offers a really accessible look at how modern development economists think about poverty and welfare in poor countries. It describes how empirical work in development economics has evolved to directly address questions about what works for improving outcomes of the poor. “ Economics Gangsters, by Miguel and Fisman “This book touches a bit more on corruption and its prevalence in developing countries. At the same time, the book discusses some evidence-based solutions to corruption in the developing world.”

The Age of Turbulence, by Alan Greenspan “Alan Greenspan’s autobiography gives a good (not perfect) history of the American macroeconomy and monetary policy from the Great Depression up until the crisis of 2008.” The Great Deformation, by David Stockman “David Stockman gives a more critical review of American economic history.” The General Theory of Employment, Income and Money, by John Maynard Keynes “Every serious student of macroeconomics should read Keynes in the original.”

A Random Walk Down Wall Street, by Burton G. Malkiel” My first suggestion is the classic description of equity markets as being ‘efficient’ and therefore behaving largely as we would expect a ‘random walk’ series to behave. This book has been around forever and never out of print for good reason. It is not the message Wall Street wants out there, but it is academically sound. The author is one of the leading figures in academic finance. Necessary reading for anyone interested in equity investing whether personally or professionally.” Thinking, Fast and Slow, by Daniel Kahneman” This book is not directly finance-related (although parts are), but it is one of the most interesting books that I have read in years. Kahneman is a leading researcher in the area behavioral science and this book is intended to summarize a lifetime of research for a lay audience. You will learn more about how your mind works by reading this book than in four years of psychology classes. NY Times bestseller, winner of the National Academy of SCiences Best Book Award and selected by the NY Times Book Review as one of the best books of 2011.”

Why Nations Fail (Acemoglu, Robinson) Capital in the 21st Century (Piketty) The Price of Inequality (Stiglitz) International Trade (Feenstra, Taylor) Fault Lines (Rajan)