Economics books to read for university application

Yes I thought of that, the thing is, previous students would have followed the same thought path as you and I.

Eventually I will read around and find a perhaps a less cited book (or equivalent) but I am just posting to get a little headstart as I know there are a lot of well read people here. I am guessing the admissions tutors would like something slightly different/less common as they have a lot to get through and a breath of fresh air would make my application stand out more.

So if you want something different look up the academics *teaching* the courses you want to do. Find out what they've published and read that.

Or find out if your local uni has any public lectures you could go to and then read up around those.

Or do a mooc (eg https://www.coursera.org/courses?orderby=upcoming&lngs=en&cats=economics or https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/complexity-and-uncertainty )

Or do something around http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00zfk8t or http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b017m16z or http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01q1mbn or http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00gq1cr or something around one of the programmes listed here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/search?q=economics (HARDtalk are generally decent starting points for a topic that is both current and controversial).

You don't HAVE to talk about books in your PS or interviews. What you have to do is demonstrate and interest and understanding of the subject beyond what is expected from your A level curriculum. Find something you think is interesting and start digging for books, blogs, research publications, newspaper articles, lectures (lots of unis have online lectures on iTunesU or similar) etc etc.

And the benefit is that you're getting insight into both a) how you'll be expected to study at university and b) some of the topics you may well cover in more depth at uni.

I am applying to university for Economics (and E&M for Oxford if I get the grades) in September and I would like to read some books. I am currently reading The Wealth of Nations but it's rather outdated and although there are plenty of ideas that I can engage with, none of them are new or modern.

I'm looking for interesting/thought provoking or really just anything well written to read. It doesn't have to be basics it can be complicated and I can research esoteric terminology alongside reading the book.

I have sat in a book shop and picked out books which looked interesting but before buying them I like to check the reviews on line and they are always heavily criticized.

Overall something sophisticated (nothing like Freaknomics) but not a student textbook (they cost £50 - £100 and I can never find them). The reading lists universities provide primarily list the latter.


Thanks in advance.

tbh i wouldnt read those old books, they're pretty difficult to digest and are very complex.

try reading the economist, paul krugman's blog/books, stiglitz, ha joon chang, etc