Good books for understanding history of economic thought

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Master_Pedant
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14 Oct 2012, 11:25 pm

I'd like to start compiling the consummate reading list of books or papers that are good to read if one wants a solid understanding of the development of economic thought. I assume Smith's Wealth of Nations, some of Marx's works (which have suffered a pretty devastating blow since the development of marginalism), works of the early marginalists, and Keyne's General Theory would be goo works to go through.


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MagicToenail
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15 Oct 2012, 1:34 am

I would recommend Larry Gonick and Woolcott Smith's The Cartoon Guide to Statistics
if you don't have a statistics background. It only partially deals with economics though.
I haven't read The Cartoon Guide To Economics because it's not a Larry Gonick creation.
Oops, just read another post that shows you do have a statistics background. I still recommend the book because it's funny though.



TM
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15 Oct 2012, 9:43 am

Master_Pedant wrote:
I'd like to start compiling the consummate reading list of books or papers that are good to read if one wants a solid understanding of the development of economic thought. I assume Smith's Wealth of Nations, some of Marx's works (which have suffered a pretty devastating blow since the development of marginalism), works of the early marginalists, and Keyne's General Theory would be goo works to go through.


*I'll edit this post as I think of more books*

Wealth of Nations. - Adam Smith
General Theory of employment, interest and money - John Maynard Keynes.
Of Money - David Hume
The purchasing power of money - Irving Fischer
Reflections on a monetary history - Milton Friedman.
Principles of economics - Carl Menger


I'd also recommend Paul Samuelsson and Robert Barro.



Last edited by TM on 15 Oct 2012, 1:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.

GGPViper
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15 Oct 2012, 10:26 am

Since TM himself has entered this thread I doubt I can provide much in the economic expertise department. The fact that he mentioned my two favourite economists in a single sentence only underlines this point.

I would however suggest The use of knowledge in society by Friedrich August von Hayek. It is not historical in itself, but it stands out because it provides an alternative explanation for the efficiency of the market mechanism, 169 years after The Wealth of Nations. It is also a delightfully short article.



Aspie_Chav
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15 Oct 2012, 4:45 pm

The Road to Serfdom by Hayak.
Fiedman has some youtube videos call Free To Choose.



Master_Pedant
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15 Oct 2012, 6:20 pm

I have recently obtained' Jevon's "The Theory of the Political Economy".


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