A Different Reading List for A level Economics

Teaching Business & Economics, Summer 2005

A few weeks ago, a message to econbusinesseducators, the profession's newsgroup, started a rich thread, which is reproduced below. Google should help with the publishers.

The first message:

I am trying to put together some ideas about how to 'humanise' Economics along the lines that Sophie's World allegedly did for Philosophy. I am starting with P J O'Rourke's 'Eat the Rich'. I am sure there are more. Can readers suggest any other titles, ancient or modern, worth investigation?

Thanks

Richard Bowett

And the replies:

Is the ragged-trouser philanthropist any use?

Paul Clarke

How about Free to Choose by Rose and Milton Friedman? It's oldish but still startling to some, even today, in its exposition on monetarist economics and its implications. Its very readable.

Dave Milner

You might be interested in The Literary Book of Economics: Including Readings from Literature and Drama on Economic Concepts, Issues, and Themes by Michael Watts (Editor)

Peter Davies

"The Roaring 90s" by Joe Stiglitz John Kay's website (disclaimer: my old boss...): http://www.johnkay.com Alternatively, how about The Wizard of Oz? (seriously...) http://www.uno.edu/~coba/econ /projects/oz/ http://www.indiana.edu/~econed /pdffiles/summer02/bhansen.pdf

Graham Starke

How about Animal Farm?

Mike Chester

How about Naomi Klein No Logo? And Paul Ormerod's The Death of Economics", and J.K. Galbraith's The Great Crash, and Will Hutton's works?

Chris Vidler

You might be interested in experiments I did to "humanise" economics by deriving a qualitative simulation and interactive-fiction program from the output of Virtual Economy: "The Lives Behind the Numbers On the Screen: Illustrating the Social Consequences of Economic Change by Telling Stories on the Web". It's quite a long paper: the section in it most directly related to teaching would be "What should the economy tell the students?". It can be found at: http://www.economicsnetwork.a c.uk/cheer/ch17/paine.htm (the paper in CHEER)

Or at http://www.jpaine.org/NarrativeTechnology. html (the original, on my site) "Virtual Economies As If People Mattered", questions for eliciting associations between macroeconomics and social behaviour: http://www.jpaine.org/veaipm.html

Jocelyn Paine

The Asterix books have some very good analysis of the demand and supply of menhirs. Includes a bit of the business of selling them too!

Hitch hikers guide ... works well for competition when looking at spacemobiles.

Jenny Wales

If the theory of constraints is allowed, then how about The Goal by Eliyahou Goldratt? The theory of constraints in a novel? Marvellous!

Duncan Williamson

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