Maybe the word ‘primer’ is a bit limited, but what I’m looking for is a text or a group of texts (paper or electronic) that provide the following:
[ul]
[li]the broad goal and principles of economics[/li][li]fields in economics [/li][li]the broad “schools” of economics [/li][li]the seminal works in economics [/li][li]a glossary to translate the above alongwith a list of terms ppl throw about, like Nash Equilibrium [/li][li]predominant contemporary economic thinking [/li][li]cutting edge economic theories today[/li][/ul]
I’ve access to an university library system, so terse academic texts are acceptable.
Please substitute suggesting seminal works which are now broadly obsolete with reviews of those works that also explain why they’re obsolete.
Good lord, I’m an economist and you’ve got me stumped as far as any single book that would cover all of this stuff. Although I have not read it myself, I’ve heard Thomas Sowell’s “Basic Economics” is a pretty good summary (even though I typically disagree with the man’s thinking).
Beyond that, you might check the course catalog of your local university for an “intro to economics” course and see what text book their using, I believe there is a large number of such books written for such classes.
Incidentally, I can probably answer any particular questions you’ve got about the field, like just what a “Nash equilibrium” is for example. For a bit of background, I’m a neo-classical economist with particular training in urban and regional economics, so if I’m qualified to tell you anything, it’s about that school and that field. I’m notoriously weak in macro-economics…
For a great book on how to think “economically” I would suggest Henry Hazlitt’s “Economics in One Lesson.” It isn’t as much a primary as it sounds. Also be sure to check Ludwig von Mises and the Austrian School though “Human Action” is quite a tome.
Hey des, I’m a recent econ. major grad and was wondering what I’m supposed to do with my life. I work in marketing for a big corporation, but it doesn’t really involve anything I learned in school. Is working for a govt. agency such as the BEA or the Fed my only option at this point? Any advice is appreciated.
Well, I’m not an economist, but I did flunk out of a Ph.D. program–thus earning the title of Master of economics. If you don’t know a damn thing about econ., I’d recommend reading Steven Landsburg’s The Armchair Economist. It won’t answer any of your questions, but it will give you a good introduction to economic thinking from the intuitive standpoint and the broad range of ways econ. can be applied to the world.
Regarding your first four bulled points, I think I’d recommend a text book on the history of economic thought. I don’t have any titles to recommend, so peruse the stack at your library. Maybe someone else can recommend some. You can also check out the New School University’s history of economic thought web site. I don’t know if they are partisans or if it is balanced. But there is a link for schools of thought and under the alphebetical index there is also a section of regularly defined schools.
For the last two, I’m not sure where to look. Hopefully somebody else will have a better answer. I would suggest standard text books in micro and macro principles, which the library should have. It looks like that New School site has pretty contemporary stuff in the Neoclassical Schools section.
Cutting edge stuff…I know there is a growing field of experimental economics. You can find some links on that here.
That’s the best I can do. But let me offer one final thing: Before delving into any one school, take a look at a history of thought text. I just perused that history of thought site and it looks pretty indepth–check both places that I suggested on the site. Game theory isn’t really a school, BTW, so much as a method that can be applied in a number of places, IMO, so you can pick up a game theory text without worrying about the previous sentence.
Oh, and also I’d be a traitor if I didn’t mention a book penned by a prof. at my alma mater - The Armchair Economist by Steven Landsburg (who also writes occasionally for Slate online). It’s a good read for anyone who’s interested in seeing the application of economic theories to everyday life.
Well, I work in commercial real estate now. It’s buttloads of fun (mainly because I do appraisal and consulting, which is relatively low-impact stress wise). I don’t directly use a lot of my econ background, although my background in econometrics occassionally comes in VERY handy. Statistics and economic forecasting are black arts for most people, as I’ve discovered… But mainly, the greatest benefit of my training is “thinking” like an economist, and having a more thorough understanding of the nature of a market for a good. Guys that got through college with only an introductory macro/micro course pay pretty good money for someone to just take a look at their proposal and give a reasonably informed opinion of it…
Various government agencies are of course one possibility, but don’t forget that besides the federal government, state and local government entities also need trained economists. A number of my buddies went to work for the state Department of Commerce, and they’re relatively happy there. Other folks I know work as sort of “economists at large” contracting their work out to any city government or sub-state planning district that could use a little brain-power for some “economic development” project or another. Chambers of Commerce in large metropolitan communities also typically keep staff economists around.
But the real money is in using what to you about markets to make money. Right now I do consulting in commercial real estate, and maybe at some point I’ll put my money where my mouth is and develop a mall or an apartment complex. Just about any business field, I think, can benefit from someone who understands economics, and I guess the trick is to get your foot in the door with a firm working in a field of business that interests you. I started out working for a university department that frequently worked with outside consultants, and that’s how I landed where I am today. In my experience, there is plenty of un-met demand for quality economic consulting, it’s just that it’s hard to match up the demand with the supply…
This is probably better suited for IMHO, but I think The Economic Way of Thinking by Paul T. Heyne (et al) does an excellent job of explaining economics to the layman.