I’ll be taking a little time this summer to do a little reading, and I’m inviting Sound Economics readers and writers to join me in the inaugural Sound Economics Summer Reading club!
Below, I’ll give a few books I plan on reading this summer. Feel free to reply in the comments section if you’d like to join me for some summer economics reading. Once fall comes back around, we’ll have something to discuss as a community of readers and econ-enthusiasts! I look forward to writing on these books (and much more) when the fall comes back around!
Book #1: Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics, by Richard Thaler. Many of you may know Richard Thaler as a co-author of Nudge. This follow-up provides some background to the development of what we now know as behavioral economics. While the book hasn’t been officially released yet, it has received many positive reviews. I’m most excited about this one! Released May 11, 2015.
Book #2: Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much, by Sendhil Mullainathan and Eldar Shafir. Co-written by an economist and a psychologist, this book (which I’ve admittedly started) tackles decision-making from the context of a scarcity of several resources: money, time, mental bandwidth … Considering the role of “scarcity” in economics, this book provides an insightful and direct application to decision making. Released September 2013.
Book #3: The Undercover Economist Strikes Back: How to Run-or Ruin-an Economy, by Tim Harford. From the author of The Undercover Economist, a take on microeconomic ideas out in the world and one of my all-time favorites, this book is a question-and-answer-style take on macroeconomic questions. It’s a great introductory take on why deflation is bad, the role of monetary policy in running an economy, and much more. Released January 2014.