10 Excellent Development Economics Books
1) Economics of Development - Thirwall + Pacheco-López.
A wonderful textbook on development econ. Includes both categories of development such as trade, health etc, and development theories, from the Lewis Model to dependency theory. 2) Development As Freedom - Amartya Sen.
Sen is a giant in Econ, and development Econ in particular. This terrific book covers his theory of development as capability enhancement, theory of famines, as well as general insights into the development process. Essential.

10 Great Book Econ Book Pairings
1) How China Escaped Shock Therapy- @IsabellaMWeber; &
How China Escaped the Poverty Trap- @yuenyuenang
Two terrific works with a common theme: that optimal policy solutions are highly dependent on context and the stage of economic development. 2) The Rise of Market Power and The Macroeconomic Implications - De Loecker + @jan_eeckhout; &
The Declining Worker Power Hypothesis - @annastansbury+ Summers
Two contending theories for the rise in the capital share. One focuses on competition, the other workers power. Read both

10 Favourite Reads of 2024
1) A Monetary and Fiscal History of the United States 1961-2021
A brilliant macroeconomic history of the period. Blinder is both a great writer and extremely candid about the difficult work of macroeconomic management. 2) Money and Government - Robert Skidelsky
A wonderful overview of key macroeconomic ideas since Hume and Smith. Skidelsky is maybe the most readable post-keynesian and this book would be a great pairing with Blinder's more mainstream account.

10 Favourite Reads of 2024 (2)
1) Pax Economica - @MWPalen
A wonderful recent work, covering an often forgotten history, left wing visions of free trade. Covers: radical liberals, socialist, feminist and radical Christian groups, and reasons for the decline in this thought 2) The Great Escape: Health, Wealth, and the Origins of Inequality - Angus Deaton
A great work analysing the changes in human welfare over the century: primarily analysing health and poverty. Good appreciation on the progress made, as well as how far there is still to go.

10 Econ Classics (pre 1950) that are Still Worth Reading Today
1) Wealth of Nations - Adam Smith
Smith turned 300 this year and his magnum opus remains wonderful. It's incredibly easy to read (despite some overly long chapters). An often misunderstood, deeply complex thinker. 2) General Theory - John Maynard Keynes
An often difficult read but well worth the investment, Keynes outlines a coherent critique of the prevailing wisdom at the time. The later chapters on uncertainty are particularly rewarding, providing insights into group psychology.

10 Favourite Reads of 2024
1) A Monetary and Fiscal History of the United States 1961-2021
A brilliant macroeconomic history of the period. Blinder is both a great writer and extremely candid about the difficult work of macroeconomic management. 2) Money and Government - Robert Skidelsky
A wonderful overview of key macroeconomic ideas since Hume and Smith. Skidelsky is maybe the most readable post-keynesian and this book would be a great pairing with Blinder's more mainstream account.

Here goes:
10 Favourite Reads of 2024
1) A Monetary and Fiscal History of the United States 1961-2021
A brilliant macroeconomic history of the period. Blinder is both a great writer and extremely candid
about the difficult work of macroeconomic management. 2) Money and Government - Robert Skidelsky
A wonderful overview of key macroeconomic ideas since Hume and Smith. Skidelsky is maybe the most readable post-keynesian and this book would be a great pairing with Blinder's more mainstream account.

10 Great Books on Institutions and Economics (Nobel Special)
1) Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance - Douglass North
A foundational work in institutional analysis, explaining institutions from first principles and explaining their development through time. 2)How China Escaped the Poverty Trap- @yuenyuenang
An essential work of complexity econ, explaining how optimal institutions develop and change through the development processes. Particularly valuable in overcoming generalisations often implicit in Western accounts of development

10 Great Books on Macroeconomics
1) A Monetary and Fiscal History of the United States 1961-2021 - Alan Blinder
A terrific work by a leading economist and former central banker. Candid, insightful and often funny, the discussions on academia vs practice are particularly good. 2) House of Debt - @AtifRMian + @profsufi
Great macroecon book even if you're not an economist, detailing how debt can destabilise economies and proposing we restructure in favour of more risk sharing. Well elaborated testing of economic hypotheses as well.

10 Great Books on Trade and Globalisation (seems relevant)
1)The Globalisation Paradox- @rodrikdani
Great work on the nuances of globalisation. Recognizing its wide benefits, but also how tradeoffs: national self-determination, democracy and economic hyper globalisation conflict. 2) Free Trade Under Fire - @D_A_Irwin
A fantastic rundown of free trade, its benefits and why it remains so controversial, written by a leading academic in the field. Helpfully, it keeps getting updated, the most recent is 2020.

10 Excellent Books on Growth and Development
1) The Power of Creative Destruction -Aghion, Antonin + Bunel
This book builds a coherent model of schumpeterian competition. Importantly, it pairs this with quantitative evidence. 2) How China Escaped the Poverty Trap - @yuenyuenang
An excellent work on complexity economics, describing how optimal institutions develop and change through the development processes. Worth considering for rich countries too.

10 Great Historical Books (2)
1) The Nobel Factor - Offer + Söderberg
This fascinating and timely work examines the 1940s-80s debate between Swedish social democrats and market liberals, and how the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics created in this political context. Excellent. 2) The Capital Order - @claraemattei
A brilliant work of econ history, focusing on the 1920s. Looks at the interaction between fiscal austerity and class politics in the UK and Italy, arguing their justification was largely about disciplining labour.

10 Great Books on Institutions and Economics (Nobel Special)
1) Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance - Douglass North
A foundational work in institutional analysis, explaining institutions from first principles and explaining their development through time. 2)How China Escaped the Poverty Trap- @yuenyuenang
An essential work of complexity econ, explaining how optimal institutions develop and change through the development processes. Particularly valuable in overcoming generalisations often implicit in Western accounts of development

Congrats to Acemoglu, Johnson and Robinson
For anyone interested in these economist's views from a policy perspective, here's a breakdown of Acemoglu and Robinson's views in the recently published Power and Progress

https://twitter.com/NobelPrize/status/1845763241147785723

1) Market Incentives to redirect technological change. This consists of 3 elements.
I) Technologies for monitoring and surveillance should be discouraged, by guidelines and if necessary not enforcing their patents.

10 Excellent Works on Ethics and Economics to Expand Your Framework
1) The Restoration of Welfare Economics - Anthony Atkinson
Terrific piece on why welfare economics matters and should be analysed specifically, rather than implicitly in modelling. It's also only 6 pages 2) Economics for the Common Good - Jean Tirole
A great defence of orthodox welfare frameworks. Good place to start if you're not familiar with why econs reason how they do. This is covered in the first few parts.

10 Great Papers to Expand Your Econ Frameworks
1) Rational Fools - Amartya Sen
Sen at his best, engaging with Econ models whilst having a strong philosophical background. This paper presents insightful challenges to revealed preference theory.
jstor.org/stable/2264946
2) Restoration of Welfare Economics - Anthony Atkinson
Convincingly argues for economists explicitly justifying the ethical criteria for their welfare statements, which are unavoidable in most workable economic models. V short and definitely worth reading. jstor.org/stable/29783733

Books that Changed the Way I Think (2)
1) Seeing Like A State - James C Scott
An unusual book that challenges to frameworks. Focuses on how states simplify and impose themselves upon societies to make them 'legible' for governance, ignoring much localised knowledge in the process

https://twitter.com/the_wilderless/status/1786105476981182753

2) The Declining Worker Power Hypothesis- @annastansbury +Summers
Examines rising markups and increasing capital share, focusing on worker power. Particularly insightful imo is the focus on distribution of econ rents, based on bargaining

10 Books that Changed the Way I Think
1) Capitalism, Alone - @BrankoMilan Milanovic is a leading expert on global inequality. This book combines a rich and detailed understanding of the stats, with a deep appreciation of political economy and ideology. V much shapes my views here

https://twitter.com/the_wilderless/status/1786105476981182753

2) Economic Philosophy + An Essay on Marxian Economics - Joan Robinson
Reading Robinson's popular works taught me it is possible to combine deep criticism of prevailing ideas with "no nonsense", concise language. Absolutely recommend these 2.

10 Favourite Reads from 2023
1) Between Debt and the Devil - Adair Turner
An incredibly interesting analysis of the role of debt in the modern economy. Importantly focuses on privately created debt as well, and its potentially destructive effects. 2) How to Pay for the War -Keynes
An incredibly short and accessible work of Keynes on the practical problem of constraining aggregate demand under supply constraints, and doing so equitably. Definitely worth reading even if you haven't read the General Theory, a much easier read

10 Great Books on Neoliberalism
1) The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order - @glgerstle
Fantastic recent addition to this literature, places neoliberalism within the context of the decline of the post war consensus, as well as the multiple forces behind the ideological shift. 2) Masters of the Universe - Daniel Stedman Jones
The best history of neoliberalism's key intellectual figures I've found. Jones presents a v fair history, neither idolising nor caricaturing their arguments, as well as the counterarguments at the time. Definitely recommend.

Labor Day Reading List
10 Great Works on Labor and Unions
1)Exit, Voice, and Loyalty- Hirschman
To improve conditions workers basically have 2 options: quit to find a better job (exit) or stay and try an exert pressure to improve it (voice). Essential insights for organised labor 2) Facts and Fantasies about Wage Setting and Collective Bargaining - Bhuller et al
This gem corrects for a disconnect between labour econ models, which often assume decentralized wage setting, and actual much more centralized wage setting arrangements. Great read and overview