Blog
Do economists know any more than us?
11th April 2009
A fascinating article from Nick Fraser (editor of BBC 4 Storyville) on economics, economists and the financial crisis. A mixture of scorn and cynicism - much of which is well targeted - but with rays of hope that a new breed of economists can emerge from the storm with fresh contributions to make
“We do need to tell economists how we want the world to be. And if economists are to fix our world, they need to know more about it.”
Here is his list of ten must read books on the crisis:
NUDGE
Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein
David Cameron’s favorite guide to public policy making
THE TRILLION DOLLAR MELTDOWN
Charles R Morris
Shows how financiers failed
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES
Robert Skidelsky
Britain’s key economist
LORDS OF FINANCE
Liaquat Ahamed
How the last crash happened
HAPPINESS
Richard Layard
The relationship between economics and success
THE AGE OF TURBULENCE
Alan Greenspan
Fails to predict the crisis
PROPHET OF INNOVATION
Thomas K McCraw
Joseph Schumpeter’s life
THE STORM,
Vince Cable
How we got into this mess
THE CREDIT CRISIS OF 2008
George Soros
THE ASCENT OF MONEY
Niall Ferguson
How money shaped society
Geoff Riley
Geoff Riley FRSA has been teaching Economics for over thirty years. He has over twenty years experience as Head of Economics at leading schools. He writes extensively and is a contributor and presenter on CPD conferences in the UK and overseas.