Reading lists used to mark the start of an intense period of school work or study, now they herald a period of rest. If we’re honest, most of us have an ever-growing bookshelf of un-thumbed books that we never quite got around to reading, and an end of year guilt that – once again – we’ve fallen behind. And on the economics front, 2018 was a bumper year.
An eminent Financial Times journalist found himself in hot water when a young group of pluralist economists, including a colleague of mine, Dr Carolina Alves, pointed out that his “recommended reads” were bereft of books by women, as well as being rather Western-centric. In response, they pulled together an alternative reading list, and submitted an open letter to the Financial Times. Their list is well worth a look, alongside the brilliant Diane Coyle’s ‘Enlightened Economist’ list.
To these I will add my own list, including not only those books that hit the limelight last year, but also some that have been a bit more overlooked.
For those interested in why some of us are contrarians while others are copycats, and why it matters to the economy (and not just the stock market), I recommend Michelle Baddeley’s Copycats and Contrarians. For readers passionate about individual freedom, and who want to hear from those marginalised within our society, whose freedoms are trampled on, including by dogooders who claim to help them, then Revolting Prostitutes by Juno Mac and Molly Smith is a must read. And while we’re taking a rest from work, Andrea Komlosy’s Work: the last 1,000 years helps us to reflect on what work is and how that’s changed over time.
If you’re speculating on what the ‘great economists’ would do in response to the many problems facing modern day economies, then take a look at Linda Yueh’s recently published and very readable book on the topic. The great women economists of history – like those today – are shockingly overlooked by the economics profession. Fortunately, Routledge have just published a Handbook of the History of Women’s Economic Thought, edited by Kirsten Madden and Robert Dimand. It is expensive and academically intense, but it is a much needed addition to any economist’s bookshelf.
For a critical perspective on modern day economic thought, try Mariana Mazzucato’s The Value of Everything: Making and Taking in the Global Economy, or Richard Koo’s The Other Half of Macroeconomics and the Fate of Globalization.
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