Recommended Reading For An Econ Major? Vol. Paging Rexalongorium, Dey Know Ayo, etc

[allday allnight]

Reading your posts really makes me wish I had paid more attention in macro and micro.

 

[targiu23]

Originally Posted by Rexanglorum

Why do you ask? Were you one of my classmates in Econ or History?

Nah, just wondering what I should do I read all these economics books and wondering if i should change my major from animation/ any art to economics. I'mabout to be a senior next year and wanted to know how the job field is far as econommics and does csun ave a good economics program?

 

[da703trailblaza]

Originally Posted by Rexanglorum

da703trailblaza wrote:

---

Surprised no one said the Wealth of Nations.

The Economic Way of thinking is a school book, but an excellent read.

If youre interested in different ideas especially politically and economicly you may want to consider Hamilton's Curse, a book on Alexander Hamilton, his thinking and how it's playing a part in modern economy.

Also if you'd like a change, Russell Roberts writes novels with economic themes that seem to be well liked.

I urge everyone to check out cafehayek.com, Boudreaux was my Micro professor and a bad *++

Oh man, I am green with envy at you. My favorite Economics blog is Cafehayek and Roberts and Boudreaux are most amazingly good economists, who have played a huge role in how I think about Economics. I read Cafehayek every single day without fail.

The fact that you got to spend a semester with one of those guys as your professor must have been a transformative experience. I hope you asked lots of questions and took advantage of office hours. Are there any particularly funny or memorable moments in that class that you would like to share with me and other NTers who appreciate what the guys at the Cafe do? Did you also get to have any classes with Dr Boettke, Williams or Kaplan? I would love to study graduate level econ because of the level of and type of talent in that department.

Also, I did not know that professor Roberts has written multiple novels. I am only aware of The Price of Everything. I have not read the whole book but that is a great book for anyone who has not been taught a good deal of Economics and wants to self teach him or herself some Economics.


Regarding the very old Economics books, like Wealth of Nations, Idn Khaldun's and Bastiat's works and the works of Marx and Engels it is a good thing to read if you have the time. It is not essential, IMO, because anything written about Economics before the 1870's and Carl Menger, were written before subjective valuation and marginalism were common knowledge. Some of the first generation Austrian books and even The General Theory also fall into the category of good to read but not essential because the impact of those works is channeled through improvements upon and commentaries about the original Austrian and Keynsian texts.






Rex, Boudreaux IS the reason why I love economics. I don't really have any funny in class moments unfortunately, but I remember the first day of class heopened with I, Pencil. At first I didn't appreciate it, I reread it and my mind was blown at how deep it really is. He's a cool guy and often (everyclass) finds a way to mention or relate something to wine

. I tried to get close to him and ask questions but unfortunately it was kind of hard, I evensent him an email about Friedman and how the theory of markets being rational that he never responded to. But he did give me a copy of The Price of EverythingI haven't had a chance to read it yet. I haven't taken classes with any of those professors yet, I'm trying to take Advanced Micro with WaltWilliams except they havent assigned teachers to classes yet. I plan to taking classes with Caplan and Boettke later though. You should come to Mason

 

[rexanglorum]

targiu23 wrote:

---

Originally Posted by Rexanglorum

Why do you ask? Were you one of my classmates in Econ or History?

Nah, just wondering what I should do I read all these economics books and wondering if i should change my major from animation/ any art to economics. I'm about to be a senior next year and wanted to know how the job field is far as econommics and does csun ave a good economics program?


Well if you have just one year to go, you probably should finish your original major because you invested a good deal of time into those classes and thegraphic design program, especially, at CSUN is a very good.

If you are indeed interested in Economics, you should get a minor, which only requires six classes. You have to take intro micro, macro, price theory(intermediate micro) and three upper division electives. If you were willing to take an extra year, plus a summer, you could do a full on double major. Youhave to take 13 classes. Aside from having to take twice as many classes, majors have to take certain math classes, the first level econometrics class,financial economics/monetary theory and we had to have some 400 level elective (minors only need 300 level electives).

Considering how bad the job market is now and how could very well be shakey in 2010, if you double major in eco nand gardate in 2011, you might face a verygood job market, With a combined back ground in the arts and in Economics, you would have a great foundation for advertising and marketing, which can be verylucrative.

Overall CSUN economics is a great place to learn economics. It is a fairly small department with only 200 students and about 50 peopel graudating every year.At the same time the department is big enough to have a decent variety of classes. I loved it there, my last two years were very fun because you can haverepoire with the professors and make friends with everyone in your class. The ideological bent of CSUN economics is generally Austrian School so it does notdemand much math but lots of logical thinking and a holistic understanding of an economy as a spontaneous order.

There are two downsides in CSUN economics. One is that it is hard to go on to grad programs in economics. Post grad economics requires a lot of math basedeconomics and econ students in UC's have a major advantage because they use math much more heavily in undergrad. Still though, if you minor in math and getgood grades in econ, you can be very competitive when it comes to grad school admissions. In the last couple of years we have sent graduates onto the PhDprograms at OSU, MIT, Harvard and UPenn. Also, we have a very good rate of sending students on law school. The other downside is that the grading is hard. Halfof the students fail the intro to micro class. Only 34% of econ students in a given class get an "A" or a "B." In contrast to that, 80% ofPoli Sci students get A's or B's in a given class. Econ is not as tough and time consuming as a Math or Engineering major but it is tougher than mostmajors so you gotta be focused and committed. Luckily the professors tend to be very good teachers and if you make friends with your classmates, you can workas a team and push each other to study and you'll get A's and B's and be versatisfied when you do so.

Whether you major or minor in Economics, picking the right professor for the right classes is pivotal. For intro to micro, take Prof Tontz, he is anoutstanding teacher and his style of teaching micro is ideal for setting up a solid foundation. He teaches economics from the philosophical ground up and indoing so he sets you up to dominate everything else that follows. He manages to be cynical and world weary but is also passionate about his subject and hestill manages to have a great sense of humor in class. He uses power point very well in class, he engages the class, he uses funn yand interestin gstories togive emprical evidence to complement the theory he is teaching us, he asks us tough questions, he is approachable in office hours and he is always down to chatduring his routine smoke breaks. For myself and many of my classmates, he is more than just a professor, he is a Sensai like figure, he doesn't just teachyou economic but an entirely new philosphy and world view.

For econometrics, go with Dr. Halcoussis. He is full of dry humor, he is a stereotypical nerd, heloves the Simpsons, he wrote the book on making econometricsclear and useful for undergrads (literally, he wrote the text book and it has been translated in over a dozen lanaguages) and he has managed to make theelective, econometrics 2, go from being canacelled for lack of inetrest to having two classes and wait list for both. CSUN economics is egenarlly lighton themath but Prof H will give you enough statiscal savvy to not be outmatched i nthat department. I know this because over the years I have argued policy andeconomics with my friends, who have studied econ in UC system and stats used to be my weakness and now I can hold my own in that area.

For macro, go with Prof Rashedian. The dude is a very gruff, old school Persian. He will verbally abuse you if you are late, he will only give you an extensionon a paper if you are on your death bed, he will simply not answer stupid questions or material he has deemed we should already know, he is not open to debatein class and he yells at students who are texting in class and the result is that we loved him and respected him a great deal. The fact is that macro, unliketheoretical or applied micro classes, is a lot like a math or science class and it requires dedication and discipline and he brings it. He would be terrible inclass about the economics of public policy or the economics of politics, where discussion is key but for fairly technical, math heavy class, you will be gladthat you have the department's drill sargent as your professor. If you do get a perfect score on an exam, as I did once in his class, he actually muttered"you ah do ah good." Do not do poorly in his class, he will sometimes read off the names of those who failed.

Professor Svorny is the chair of the department and she teaches applied micro classes, particularly labor economics, healthcare policy economics and urbanpolicy economics. I strongly recommend taking urban economics with her as wel las healthcare economics. She is very casual, respects her students a great deal,she cares about her student's futures and career prospects and all of that. Don't be fooled by her maternal aura because she is a ruthless grader. Shehas us do essay based answers were you pick four of five questions, so each question is worth 25 points. I had her for two semesters and I had a total of 24essay questions and got a 25 of 25 only twice and plenty of time I only got a 10 or 12. Some people might never get over 20 once and in many cases, she willgive you a straight up zero without blinking. If you are not prepared you will get a goose eggs. You had better draw the graph she wants, draw and label itflawlessly and explain every part of it perfectly.

If you show up, read the texts, ask questions and study with your classmates, yo uwill do fine, if not very well and do what I did and get a B in one semesterand an A in the semester. The challange and risk of dings to your GPA are well worth it because her classes on labor markets, on healthcare policy andespecially on urban issues are very important and applicable to our immediate surroudings and circumstances. She also is the best professor at forcing you intorefining you ability to craft research papers.

Finally, try to get a class with professor Whitman. He is the wunderkind of the department. He got his PhD in 2000 and got tenured in 2006. His classes,especially his Law and Economics class is one that will realy force you to think. Even very smart students are forced to think deeply about the subject matter.He also teaches a lot in his classes, he never ends early, he talks fast and does not have much redundancy or review. In Law and Economics you really have tothink about how property rights works and the subtle distinctions and the economic incentives and ramifications towards our standards of living. Then yourepeat that process in talking about contracts, externalities, criminal law, torts, liability ad whether or not to impose ex ante or ex post punishments and healso manages to find time to get our feet wet in Game Theory.

I loved the experience ebcause of the professors and classamtes at CSUN Economics and as someone who is profoundly interested in public policy and debate, Ifeel like I am well armed and well trained to do verbal battle with anyone over public policy. If you take the right combinations of classes, make friends withthe right group of classmates apply yourself and take advantage the various strengths of the various professors (and if you are feeling brave enough, debatethe professors in office hours) you will have the ability to detect BS that comes from the media, other professors, your friends, our elected officials andeven well respected academics and other intellectuals. In my experience I not only learned how to thing critically but how to test arguments, those of othersand my own, from all angles, how to articulate complex ideas to complete laymen and how to think on my feet when needed and how to give lengthy and wordlessdeliberation well that was needed.

What ever you decide to do, good luck and if you have further questions feel free to contact me.

Rex, Boudreaux IS the reason why I love economics. I don't really have any funny in class moments unfortunately, but I remember the first day of class he opened with I, Pencil. At first I didn't appreciate it, I reread it and my mind was blown at how deep it really is. He's a cool guy and often (every class) finds a way to mention or relate something to wine

. I tried to get close to him and ask questions but unfortunately it was kind of hard, I even sent him an email about Friedman and how the theory of markets being rational that he never responded to. But he did give me a copy of The Price of Everything I haven't had a chance to read it yet. I haven't taken classes with any of those professors yet, I'm trying to take Advanced Micro with Walt Williams except they havent assigned teachers to classes yet. I plan to taking classes with Caplan and Boettke later though. You should come to Mason

The GMU eco ndepartment sounds similar to the CSUN econ department in it quality of teaching and general world view. MY life changing micro professor managedto weave Bombay Saphire Martinis into every one of his lectures.

Ifnot that something about drugs or disfunctional marriages. We he talked about prices, he mentioned that righ thand side of Ventura Blvd. the gas stationscharge on average three cents more per galloen. The reason is because that is the Wrst bound or home bound side for most people and they are willing to pay apremium to not have to turn left across the very busy street. The professor said that thsi was the case because people tend to fill up on the way home insteadof to work because "most people's arrival time to work it very inelastic while most people's arrival time back home is somewhat elastic... wellthat is the case for most people, some of us [whiney jewish ex wife's voice] 'had to be home at exactly 5:30 to walk the dog'[/ voice]... *shakeshead* that didn't last."

One time, while talking about how expectations of price changes affect demand in the present he said "suppose a hurricane is heading towards Colombia, nowcommodity trading firms have their own weathermen, very good weather men - you think the best weathermen work for the government? - so these weather say acategory five Hurrican if comin gand will wipe out half of the Coffee crop, now coffee is Columbia's second biggest export that begins with the letter"c" so what do you think will be the effect on demand before the storm hits?" ad when he discussed taxes and inelasticity he said "well theStates like that peopel are addicted to tobacco, they would hate it if people actually smoked much less because of taxes because they would lose their moneybut luckily for State treasury officials, there are no close substitutes. Yeah you smoke otherthings but most *cough* have very different effects." andbest of all, he taught my price theory class after he had his hip replaced. He has taking oxyconti nand he must have forgotte his dose so in the middle ofclass, he takes the his pill, washes it down with coffee from his giant thermos and said "ahh" and continued his lecture.

Micro professors really do set the tone because if thay are good teachers, they create good students, passionate students and, as I am assuming from yourexperience with Dr. Boudreaux, students, who have unlearned a lot of bad ideas and are ready to build from the groud up, on a rock solid inetllectualfoundation.
BTW, I wonder if GMU does a joint Masters in Econ and JD programs because I know that GMU has a fine law school. Law School is what I reall ywant to do themost in post grad but I really, really would want to at least had a few one on one discussions with few of the Economics people at George Mason. 703, what yearare you currently, if you are around there in Fall of 2010, we should definitely hangout and discuss Austrian Economics.

 

[fede dpt]

I'm no Economy major, but Gov't and Economics are my hobbies.

Here are a few books...

The firs 3 are pretty academic, but VERY,VERY good reads.

 

[tmukg21]

posting to read later

Rex dropping knowledge

 

[tmay407]

This dude Rex keeps dropping novels in his replies

I'm trying to check this out while the shower is warming up, but there's no way I can read all of that right now...I gotta get to this tradingsimulator *@$+$+%@.

I'll be back to read that reply after class, though. Thanks, Rex.

 

[kicks4kaskets]

http://www.marginalrevolution.com/ is a pretty good econ/finance blog. The owner posts about 5-6 times a daytoo so there's a lot to read up on and absorb.

 

[da703trailblaza]

Originally Posted by Rexanglorum

targiu23 wrote:

---

Rex, Boudreaux IS the reason why I love economics. I don't really have any funny in class moments unfortunately, but I remember the first day of class he opened with I, Pencil. At first I didn't appreciate it, I reread it and my mind was blown at how deep it really is. He's a cool guy and often (every class) finds a way to mention or relate something to wine

. I tried to get close to him and ask questions but unfortunately it was kind of hard, I even sent him an email about Friedman and how the theory of markets being rational that he never responded to. But he did give me a copy of The Price of Everything I haven't had a chance to read it yet. I haven't taken classes with any of those professors yet, I'm trying to take Advanced Micro with Walt Williams except they havent assigned teachers to classes yet. I plan to taking classes with Caplan and Boettke later though. You should come to Mason

The GMU eco ndepartment sounds similar to the CSUN econ department in it quality of teaching and general world view. MY life changing micro professor managed to weave Bombay Saphire Martinis into every one of his lectures.

If not that something about drugs or disfunctional marriages. We he talked about prices, he mentioned that righ thand side of Ventura Blvd. the gas stations charge on average three cents more per galloen. The reason is because that is the Wrst bound or home bound side for most people and they are willing to pay a premium to not have to turn left across the very busy street. The professor said that thsi was the case because people tend to fill up on the way home instead of to work because "most people's arrival time to work it very inelastic while most people's arrival time back home is somewhat elastic... well that is the case for most people, some of us [whiney jewish ex wife's voice] 'had to be home at exactly 5:30 to walk the dog'[/ voice]... *shakes head* that didn't last."

One time, while talking about how expectations of price changes affect demand in the present he said "suppose a hurricane is heading towards Colombia, now commodity trading firms have their own weathermen, very good weather men - you think the best weathermen work for the government? - so these weather say a category five Hurrican if comin gand will wipe out half of the Coffee crop, now coffee is Columbia's second biggest export that begins with the letter "c" so what do you think will be the effect on demand before the storm hits?" ad when he discussed taxes and inelasticity he said "well the States like that peopel are addicted to tobacco, they would hate it if people actually smoked much less because of taxes because they would lose their money but luckily for State treasury officials, there are no close substitutes. Yeah you smoke otherthings but most *cough* have very different effects." and best of all, he taught my price theory class after he had his hip replaced. He has taking oxyconti nand he must have forgotte his dose so in the middle of class, he takes the his pill, washes it down with coffee from his giant thermos and said "ahh" and continued his lecture.

Micro professors really do set the tone because if thay are good teachers, they create good students, passionate students and, as I am assuming from your experience with Dr. Boudreaux, students, who have unlearned a lot of bad ideas and are ready to build from the groud up, on a rock solid inetllectual foundation.
BTW, I wonder if GMU does a joint Masters in Econ and JD programs because I know that GMU has a fine law school. Law School is what I reall ywant to do the most in post grad but I really, really would want to at least had a few one on one discussions with few of the Economics people at George Mason. 703, what year are you currently, if you are around there in Fall of 2010, we should definitely hangout and discuss Austrian Economics.



I will be here in '10, I'm class of '11. Mason does have a joint MA/JD program and as far as I know Boudreaux mostly teaches upper level and law school classes. Boudreaux was challenging, his test questions made me think and I appreciated that. Many students didn't value you him, but you're right having a good micro teacher sets off everything else. I hated my macro professor, he was boring but had a few good jokes. I'm just really hoping Williams is teaching in the fall.

 

[heyson]

man i was wondering the same thing, if i should change from a fine/graphic art major to econ. i think i will do a double major.