Economic texts?

[schaef]

I'm headed to law school in the fall with the goal of working in the field of international security and development, but in the meantime am looking to beef up my knowledge base and fill any gaps that might still exist.

So I'm open to suggestions for additions to my reading list- economic threory/philosophy, international political economy and sustainable development, development and security, etc. I have a math minor to go along w/ the poly sci/history, so more technical theory texts aren't necessarily ruled out.

Any and all ideas much appreciated... thanks!

[Borodog]

Man, Economy, and State (http://www.mises.org/store/Man-Economy-and-State-with-Power-and-Market-The-Scholars-Edition-P177C0.aspx), Murray N. Rothbard.

[schaef]

Good one.

[Borodog]

Unfortunately it's out of print, but you can get the whole text in a pdf online: A Theory of Socialism and Capitalism (http://www.mises.org/etexts/Soc&Cap.pdf), Hans-Hermann Hoppe.

[Borodog]

And of course, Human Action (http://www.mises.org/store/Human-Action-The-Scholars-Edition-P119C0.aspx), Ludwig von Mises.

But if you must choose only one, choose Man, Economy, and State.

[maurile]

Here's a good text on micro-economics:

Price Theory (http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Academic/Price_Theory/PThy_ToC.html).

I had to pay for it when I was in school, but now it's webbed.

[MathEconomist]

Well, what you should pick up really depends on what you're hoping to do with this knowledge and what gaps you currently have. I mean the recommendations will be quite different if you have no background at all in the field versus if you've had several undergraduate courses in the area. So if you're more specific about your needs you'll get better recommendations.

My favorite non-technical (ie not a textbook) development book is Easterly's The Elusive Quest for Growth. You should be able to understand it with no background at all in the field as it's not an academic work, though knowing a bit more makes it more useful.

Also, keep in mind the old saying "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing." This is especially true in economics as too often people learn a little bit about the field and conclude "Yay markets. Freedom in everything. Invisible hands will fix all problems." or "There are too many externalities so we need the government involved in everything" when more in depth study of the field will help you understand the strengths and weaknesses of various market situations. So do be careful when you study the field to do so in a reasonably comprehensive manner lest you simply cling to the parts of the material that seem to confirm whatever ideological biases you came in with.

[schaef]

Maybe I should have elaborated a bit.

I took several relevant undergrad courses - micro/macro, along with several in the area of international political economy, development, international aid, etc... and I understand the broad strokes of the progression of economic philosophies.

I also spent significant time post-grad working on US foreign policy related to conventional arms proliferation (mostly small arms), and intend to use my law degree to adress issues at the intersection of security and development.

I'm also not an ideologue by any stretch, and understand that if there is ever a "correct" answer it is not found in a cookie-cutter approach (e.g. much of the 80s)... eh, I could go on, but basically I just looking for great reads that I may not have taken in yet (whether I agree with them or not) with which I could expand my horizons a bit.

[Riddick]

[ QUOTE ]
Also, keep in mind the old saying "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing." This is especially true in economics as too often people learn a little bit about the field and conclude "Yay markets. Freedom in everything. Invisible hands will fix all problems."

[/ QUOTE ]

In my life time, I never thought I'd come across someone casting aside freedom as a "dangerous thing"

"We have to call it 'freedom': who'd want to die for 'a lesser tyranny'? ~Mignon McLaughlin

[Marko Schmarko]

lol, was that a serious post?

[MathEconomist]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Also, keep in mind the old saying "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing." This is especially true in economics as too often people learn a little bit about the field and conclude "Yay markets. Freedom in everything. Invisible hands will fix all problems."

[/ QUOTE ]

In my life time, I never thought I'd come across someone casting aside freedom as a "dangerous thing"

"We have to call it 'freedom': who'd want to die for 'a lesser tyranny'? ~Mignon McLaughlin

[/ QUOTE ]

That's ok, in my lifetime, I never thought I'd come across someone with such poor reading comprehension who was able to access the internet and type, and yet I just did.

Back to the original post, if you already have a decent undergrad background, then I'd just suggest reading journal articles on subjects you're interested in and discussing the parts you don't understand with an economics professor or grad student at your university. Someone around will likely be glad to help you with those parts. I think you'll likely find that as valuable as reading textbooks. It might also be worth looking at Romer's macro text as it provides a good background for understanding growth and development at a level in between graduate and undergraduate. If anything else immediately comes to mind I'll let you know...I don't look that closely at textbooks very often.