Dani Rodrik
If you could gift yourself books at age 16 and age 25 – what would they be and why?
At 16 I was too much of a tech geek, so I would have benefited from some good books on the arts and humanities. The Story of Art by E.H. Gombrich, perhaps, which I should have read earlier than I did. At 25, I was about to embark on my PhD in Economics. I would have benefited from The Rhetoric of Economics by Deirdre McCloskey (though it was not published until three years later) – both because of its argument that economists rely on rhetorical tools to convince their peers and for the reminder that you can be a good economist and write well at the same time.
Which three books would you recommend for a complete novice who wants to learn about economics?
The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith is timeless and remains indispensable. Reinventing the Bazaar: A Natural History of Markets by John McMillan is a great book that can be read for fun by anyone to understand how markets work in real life. To bring the story up to date and show how economists think about contemporary policy issues, I’d complete the list with Economics for the Common Good by Jean Tirole – a long but profitable read.
The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith is timeless and remains indispensable. Reinventing the Bazaar: A Natural History of Markets by John McMillan is a great book that can be read for fun by anyone to understand how markets work in real life. To bring the story up to date and show how economists think about contemporary policy issues, I’d complete the list with Economics for the Common Good by Jean Tirole – a long but profitable read.
What’s the greatest book on economics ever written?
It is unoriginal to say so, but The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith is peerless.
It is unoriginal to say so, but The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith is peerless.
What is the book that you feel has had the single biggest impact on your life? What impact did it have?
Certainly, The Great Transformation by Karl Polanyi has had the greatest impact on my thinking. His idea that markets are not self-standing and that they are always embedded in social-moral structures is a very powerful one that continues to shape my work.
Daron Acemoglu
Certainly, The Great Transformation by Karl Polanyi has had the greatest impact on my thinking. His idea that markets are not self-standing and that they are always embedded in social-moral structures is a very powerful one that continues to shape my work.
Daron Acemoglu
Which book has had the biggest impact on your career so far? How did it impact it?
Structure and Change in Economic History by Douglass North, which crystallized many of the questions that had motivated me to get into economics in the first place and convinced me that these questions are not just interesting but also open for research.
Which three books would you recommend for a complete novice who wants to learn about economics?
This is a really hard question. People coming with different backgrounds would benefit most from different books. So let me pick three books that would appeal to people with varied backgrounds and interests:
The Strategy of Conflict by Thomas Schelling would provide an exciting introduction to issues of conflict, cooperation and strategic interactions without requiring a technical background.
Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty by James Robinson and myself, would be a good introduction to how economics, together with political factors, is useful for thinking about the long-run economic development (or lack thereof) of nations. But of course, I’m biased.
Levers of Riches by Joel Mokyr is an excellent introduction to the history of technology and the economics of the British Industrial Revolution, which would be ideal for people who want to understand the historical development of Western economies.
Structure and Change in Economic History by Douglass North, which crystallized many of the questions that had motivated me to get into economics in the first place and convinced me that these questions are not just interesting but also open for research.
Which three books would you recommend for a complete novice who wants to learn about economics?
This is a really hard question. People coming with different backgrounds would benefit most from different books. So let me pick three books that would appeal to people with varied backgrounds and interests:
The Strategy of Conflict by Thomas Schelling would provide an exciting introduction to issues of conflict, cooperation and strategic interactions without requiring a technical background.
Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty by James Robinson and myself, would be a good introduction to how economics, together with political factors, is useful for thinking about the long-run economic development (or lack thereof) of nations. But of course, I’m biased.
Levers of Riches by Joel Mokyr is an excellent introduction to the history of technology and the economics of the British Industrial Revolution, which would be ideal for people who want to understand the historical development of Western economies.
What’s the greatest book on economics ever written?
The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith is unrivalled.
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