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So I'm an economics major and I really love the stuff. I'm looking for good books for additional reading. Any recommendations?
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indeed.Originally Posted by CjMoney
Freakonomics
Originally Posted by Rexanglorum
Despite you butchering my name, I am flattered that you're asking me what you should be reading.
The short answer is, everything. You should be aware of everything past and present.
Knowing everything is, however, impossible so I'll recommend material to which you should give priority and also tell you what books are valuable but should not be given top priority.
If you want to be good with economics, you need a rock solid foundations so focus on doing well in your intro classes and also check out Thomas Sowell's Basic Economics. Even if you have finished a few courses in basic Economics, his book is so good at focusing and centering your mind and putting you in a good position to handle all sorts of more complex and advanced questions.
After getting your feet under you and mastering the basics, realize that a competent student of economics and the world in general understands Spontaneous Orders. Become as acquainted with them much as possible and works by people like Hayek and Mises will help you to see how Spontaneous Orders government our actions and hold societies together. You should also check out books like Freakonomics so you can see how spontaneous orders and economic logic applies to everything that people do.
Beyond that, check out the news, check out the myriad blogs that are written by established Economists and also read lots of history, especially books that are broad in scope. Books like Guns, Germs and Steel and A History of Force are of immense value because they give us a view of how humans have tried to organize themselves in the face of what was in front of them at the moment.
When you are getting good with economics, do not dedicate too much time to financial materials. Get the solid economic foundation mastered, lay down the philosophic and intellectual corner stones and then proceed to learning how to win at investing.
That is just my own opinion though and I will readily admit I am strongly influenced by the idiosyncrasies of my professors and the fact that I am pretty strongly committed Hayekian student of Economics.
CjMoney wrote:
Originally Posted by Rexanglorum
Despite you butchering my name, I am flattered that you're asking me what you should be reading.
The short answer is, everything. You should be aware of everything past and present.
Knowing everything is, however, impossible so I'll recommend material to which you should give priority and also tell you what books are valuable but should not be given top priority.
If you want to be good with economics, you need a rock solid foundations so focus on doing well in your intro classes and also check out Thomas Sowell's Basic Economics. Even if you have finished a few courses in basic Economics, his book is so good at focusing and centering your mind and putting you in a good position to handle all sorts of more complex and advanced questions.
After getting your feet under you and mastering the basics, realize that a competent student of economics and the world in general understands Spontaneous Orders. Become as acquainted with them much as possible and works by people like Hayek and Mises will help you to see how Spontaneous Orders government our actions and hold societies together. You should also check out books like Freakonomics so you can see how spontaneous orders and economic logic applies to everything that people do.
Beyond that, check out the news, check out the myriad blogs that are written by established Economists and also read lots of history, especially books that are broad in scope. Books like Guns, Germs and Steel and A History of Force are of immense value because they give us a view of how humans have tried to organize themselves in the face of what was in front of them at the moment.
When you are getting good with economics, do not dedicate too much time to financial materials. Get the solid economic foundation mastered, lay down the philosophic and intellectual corner stones and then proceed to learning how to win at investing.
That is just my own opinion though and I will readily admit I am strongly influenced by the idiosyncrasies of my professors and the fact that I am pretty strongly committed Hayekian student of Economics.
Rex, I remember us having a long aim convo a long time ago. Do you still believe in efficient market hypothesis? Just wondering because I just got back from the berkshire hathaway shareholder meeting and have been banking in the market lately (knock on wood). Just curious...
That is a great, great, great question. I really love this subject because I have spent years studying economics and I am now working in finance and the topicbinds the ivory tower with the towers of glass and steel abut it also divides department chairs from fund managers. For me personally, it is the true nexus ofthe philosophic and intellectual world of academic economics with the aggressive and practical world of private finance.
A year ago, I would have said that they were almost perfectly efficient with very little deviation. A combination of wild market fluctuations and actuallyworking in capital management and seeing how our clients and even other investors act, has shown me that there is a great deal of exuberance and despair -animal spirits to steal a phrase from JM Keynes - that causes a good deal of irrationality. With that said, the EMH still holds a good deal of weightconsidering how financial markets satisfy many perfect market conditions so the prices communicate the value of assets quite well and while some of thevolitility in financial markets have been caused my irrational exuberance and irrational despair, much of the swings have been caused by imperfect informationand regime uncertiainty so in those respects the EMH holds true.
Overall, the EMH is similar to most economic theories, it is a useful abstraction that hits the target but rarely scores a bullseye. Capital generally findsits highest valued uses and assets prices usually approximate the value of an assets fairly well. At the same time, information is never perfect nor are peopelperfectly rational and that craetes deviations from the theory and inefficient allocations of capital and it is up to folks like us to profit from it.
If you see "Roy Anglais" on AIM hit me up or PM me because the EMH is one of my favorite topics and I would love to talk more at length with youabout it.
AllDay AllNight wrote:
I've always had tremendous respect for Rex.
Thank, I appreciate that a great deal.
BTW, are you from the Valley, went to CSUN or are from the Valley and Went to Cal, or am I confusing you with someone else? Also, didn't you throw out theidea of us getting some lunch at My Hero Subs in Northridge? That was few years ago but I couldn't get a hold of you because you had your PM turned off. Ifyou're around the LA area right now, I'd be down to meet up. My experience with meeting NTers who are cool on NT is that they have been cool in personas well.
Also, Craftsy, do not get too down on yourself, you are a smart dude who picked a good all around major, fro ma career standpoint. This has not just been a badrecession but it has been especially difficult for people like us, who are trying to enter the labor market. Unemployment is not extraordinarily high ingeneral but almost all of the unemployment has been caused by the fact that almost no hiring is happening. In past recessions, there has been net job lossesbut normally it involves even more layoff than the this recession but with firms still doing some degree of hiring.
Given the lack of confidence across the economy, the extreme feelings of insecurity and anxiety, the unpredictability and tightness of credit (interest ratesare lower than they were in many previous economic booms) firms are generally standing pat and not hiring. So unlike past recessions, people ,who already havejobs are safer than employed people in other recessions but people without a jobs are in a worse position than other periods where the rate of unemployment wasequally as high.
I am sure that everyone has said "hang in there," I will not join that chorus and instead I will give you something that resembles actually good newsor at least cause for tentative hope and optimism. The yield curve is positive for the first time since 2007, new jobless claims have actually fallen recently,capital goods orders in April were higher then any month since 2005, consumer confidence has increased after several months of decline, home prices haveactually begun to increase (demand was up a few months ago and the supply of housing stopped expanding in 200 and many of the ARM driven foreclosures haverun their course so many toxic assets will come up devalued but with the uncertainty waning they will no longer be worthless.
All of these are leading indicators that have historically signalled the beginning of the end of a recession. Furthermore, the nature of this particularrecession means that with pent up demand and delayed and deferred hiring and investment by firms, we may not crawl out of this recession, we may very wellexplode out of it and the labor market could prove to have a much shorter lag than past recessions. Also, for what it is worth, Google searches for "GreatDepression," "since the great depression," "recession" and "worst economy ever" have declined to near zero, off of theirpeak during the winter. At the same time, the phrase "green shoots" have been appearing and multiplying in respected financial publications. Again, Iqualify this by saying, for what it is worth.
On a deeper level, still feel proud of your education. AS a financial assets, your degree is not yielding what you expected it to and that has been the casefor many graduates, However, your degree will yield higher lifetime earnings, especially later in your working life. Also, try to take pride and find happinessin the non pecuniary benefits of your education. Relative to how you would have been with out your education, you are better able to read and understandingvarious items, you are better able to articulate ideas, you are a more interesting person in social situations because you can conserve about broader range ofsubjects, you can enjoy and appreciate literature and historical texts and financial publications, you are equipped to better and more methodically consideralmost any problem that will cross your path, you are now part of a centuries' old tradition and debate about some of life's deepest questions, youprobably have made friendships you would not have otherwise made (most people's life long friendships are started in college) and finally, your degree cannever be taken away from you. The world can change, calamities can and will happen but you are college graduate and that fact is as immutable as any other factin the Universe.
Until you get a job, use the time to prepare your mind and body for the demands of a career. Stay in shape, use the time off to get in better shape and run,run and run because when you do get that corporate job, endurance and persistence are paramount. Also, do not let your mind get dull. Keep the blades honed andread, read things you have wanted to read but did not have the time to do so. In addition to financial and economic blogs, articles, journals and books, readliterature and poetry and history and philosophy. Give yourself and purpose and since you spent years striving to finish college, try to simulate that. I didthose things when I was unemployed after school and it helped me keep my sanity while I was unemployed and it helped me when I finally did get my job.
Good luck, you got all of the skills, if you keep at it, very good things will happen for you.
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, whohave 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 ofquestions 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 andother 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 studygraduate 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 bookbut 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 agood 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 writtenbefore subjective valuation and marginalism were common knowledge. Some of the first generation Austrian books and even The General Theory also fallinto the category of good to read but not essential because the impact of those works is channeled through improvements upon and commentaries about theoriginal Austrian and Keynsian texts.
Originally Posted by Rexanglorum
AllDay AllNight wrote:
I've always had tremendous respect for Rex.