Starting to read around Economics

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if any economics students / candidates have any recommendations on what books I should read prior to applying for Cambridge?

The aim of my reading is to deepen my knowledge and theory, as well as being able to showcase my interest in the subject.

Thanks a lot!
Jess x

Reply 1

Doones

21

Original post by JessNg

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if any economics students / candidates have any recommendations on what books I should read prior to applying for Cambridge?

The aim of my reading is to deepen my knowledge and theory, as well as being able to showcase my interest in the subject.

Thanks a lot!
Jess x

King's provides some ideas:
http://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/subjects/economics.html#resources

I'm sure others do too.

But fundamentally you should read or do things that interest *you*.

The Economist and the FT are often a good start...

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 2

BasicMistake

18

The following are nice to start off with but do not put them on your personal statement since they betray a total lack of imagination:
The Undercover Economist
Freakonomics

Aside from that, Doonesbury is right: pick what you're interested in. Economics strays into a lot of fields so find one you want to learn more about.

More in-depth books:
Capital in the Twenty-First Century
Development as Freedom
Why Nations Fail

Other 'smaller' fields of research:
The Art of Strategy (Game Theory)
Nudge/Predictable Irrational (Behavioural economics)

Reply 3

JessNg

OP

11

Thanks Doonesbury for the amazing advice as always!

Reply 4

JessNg

OP

11

Also thanks a lot Basic Mistake, for the very in depth reply! I'll have a read of those recommendations :smile:

Reply 5

Jono-Wolf

16

Would strongly strongly recommend buying a subscription and reading the Economist every week (I think they still do £12 for 12 weeks). Probably you're most important reading to prep for an interview.

I would recommend you read books that are not normally read. Find an area of Economics that you enjoy and look for books that are less known.

The books you read are not actually that important; what is more important is your opinion on the book and whether you agree with the author's viewpoint which you should convey on your personal statement.

Hope this helps :smile:

)

Reply 6

username1865079

14

Original post by Jono-Wolf

Would strongly strongly recommend buying a subscription and reading the Economist every week (I think they still do £12 for 12 weeks). Probably you're most important reading to prep for an interview.

I would recommend you read books that are not normally read. Find an area of Economics that you enjoy and look for books that are less known.

The books you read are not actually that important; what is more important is your opinion on the book and whether you agree with the author's viewpoint which you should convey on your personal statement.

Hope this helps :smile:

)

I agree reading The Economist is very important, not just for Cambridge application but for anyone who has interest in the current affairs (not just economics), but the subscription is very expensive (after the initial short period of introductory period).

Luckily, however, you can read most of the articles (except for a small number of subscriber-only articles, like 'Special Reports') are available online for everyone without subscription.
https://www.economist.com/ (Click 'Print Edition' on top or 'Latest Issue'/'See full edition' below Editor's Picks)

If you can afford to subscribe, that's even better. You can download the app on your phone and you get access to digital edition with audio which is really great as you don't have to read it but can listen to every article on the go.

Reply 7

hannah00

18

Dont bother reading the economists, most people just regard it as snobby paper out of touch with real world and constantly talking down to countries that are not UK or US.

You try courses on the coursa website to get a feel of different modules.

https://www.coursera.org/

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 8

Doones

21

The Economist: The art and science of economics at Cambridge

Starting to read around Economics

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