The Best Books for Learning Economics
40 economics books everyone should read.
Per Bylund recently published How to Think About the Economy: A Primer. An excellent book that provides a concise (137 pages) overview of economics for beginners. Below is the “Further Reading” section from pages 133-137, where Bylund provides an amazing and comprehensive reading list that any person must study in order to learn economics. Purchase a copy here at mises.org. Follow Bylund on twitter @perbylund for daily entertaining and educational insights.
We have added the pdf links.
BOOKS FOR BEGINNERS
Ammous, Saifedean. Principles of Economics. Amman, Jordan: The Saif House, 2023.
Bastiat, Frédéric. That Which Is Seen and That Which Is Not Seen (1850). In vol. 1 of The Bastiat Collection, 1–48. Auburn, AL: Ludwig von Mises Institute, 2007.
https://cdn.mises.org/The%20Bastiat%20Collection_4.pdf
Bylund, Per L. The Seen, the Unseen, and the Unrealized: How Regulations Affect Our Everyday Lives. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2016.
Hazlitt, Henry. Economics in One Lesson. New York: Three Rivers Press, 1979.
Murphy, Robert P. Choice: Cooperation, Enterprise, and Human Action. Oakland, CA: Independent Institute, 2015.
ECONOMICS TREATISES
Menger, Carl. Principles of Economics. Translated by James Dingwall and Bert F. Hoselitz. Auburn, AL:Ludwig von Mises Institute, 2007.
https://cdn.mises.org/Principles%20of%20Economics_5.pdf
Mises, Ludwig von. Human Action: A Treatise on Economics, scholar’s ed. Auburn, AL: Ludwig von Mises Institute, 1998.
https://cdn.mises.org/Human%20Action_3.pdf
Rothbard, Murray. Man, Economy and State: A Treatise on Economic Principles. 2 vols. Princeton, NJ: D. Van Nostrand, 1962.
https://cdn.mises.org/man_economy_and_state_with_power_and_market_3.pdf
ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND ECONOMIC GROWTH
Bylund, Per L. The Problem of Production: A New Theory of the Firm. London: Routledge, 2016.
Foss, Nicolai J., and Peter G. Klein. Organizing Entrepreneurial Judgment: A New Approach to the Firm. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015.
Kirzner, Israel M. Competition and Entrepreneurship. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1973.
Schumpeter, Joseph A. Theory of Economic Development: An Inquiry into Profits, Capital, Credit, Interest, and the Business Cycle. Translated by Redvers Opie. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1934.
ECONOMIC CALCULATION AND SOCIALISM
Boettke, Peter J. Calculation and Coordination: Essays on Socialism and Transitional Political Economy. London: Routledge, 2001.
Hoff, Trygve J. B. Economic Calculation in the Socialist Society. Indianapolis, IN: Liberty Press, 1981.
https://cdn.mises.org/Economic%20Calculation%20in%20the%20Socialist%20Society_2.pdf
Huerta de Soto, Jesús. Socialism, Economic Calculation, and Entrepreneurship. Translated by Melinda Stroup. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar, 2010.
Mises, Ludwig von. Socialism: An Economic and Sociological Analysis. Translated by J. Kahane. new ed. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1951.
https://cdn.mises.org/Socialism%20An%20Economic%20and%20Sociological%20Analysis_3.pdf
MONEY AND BANKING
Lavoie, Donald. Rivalry and Central Planning: The Socialist Calculation Debate Reconsidered. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985.
Menger, Carl. On the Origins of Money. Translated by C. A. Foley. Auburn, AL: Ludwig von Mises Institute, 2009. Mises, Ludwig von. Bureaucracy. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1944.
https://cdn.mises.org/On%20the%20Origins%20of%20Money_5.pdf
Mises, Ludwig von. The Theory of Money and Credit. Translated by J. E. Batson. Auburn, AL: Ludwig von Mises Institute, 2009.
https://cdn.mises.org/Theory%20of%20Money%20and%20Credit.pdf
Rothbard, Murray N. The Mystery of Banking. 2nd ed. Auburn, AL: Ludwig von Mises Institute, 2008.
https://cdn.mises.org/Mystery%20of%20Banking_2.pdf
Rothbard, Murray N. What Has Government Done to Our Money? 5th ed. Auburn, AL: Ludwig von Mises Institute, 2010.
https://cdn.mises.org/What%20Has%20Government%20Done%20to%20Our%20Money_3.pdf
Salerno, Joseph T. Money: Sound and Unsound. Auburn, AL: Ludwig von Mises Institute, 2010.
https://cdn.mises.org/Money,%20Sound%20and%20Unsound_2.pdf
CAPITAL THEORY AND PRODUCTION
Böhm-Bawerk, Eugen von. Capital and Interest: A Critical History of Economical Theory. Translated by William Smart. London: Macmillan, 1890.
https://cdn.mises.org/Capital%20and%20Interest_0.pdf
Garrison, Roger W. Time and Money: The Macroeconomics of Capital Structure. London: Routledge, 2000.
Hayek, Friedrich A. Prices and Production. 2nd ed. New York: Augustus M. Kelly, 1935.
https://cdn.mises.org/prices_and_production_and_other_works.pdf
Hayek, Friedrich A. The Pure Theory of Capital. Auburn, AL: Ludwig von Mises Institute, 2009.
https://cdn.mises.org/Pure%20Theory%20of%20Capital_4.pdf
Kirzner, Israel M. An Essay on Capital. New York: Augustus M. Kelley, 1996.
https://fee.org/media/23865/kirzner-israelm-anessayoncapital-ocr.pdf
Lachmann, Ludwig M. Capital and Its Structure. Kansas City, KS: Sheed Andrews and McMeel, 1978.
https://cdn.mises.org/Capital%20and%20Its%20Structure_2.pdf
Lewin, Peter. Capital in Disequilibrium: The Role of Capital in a Changing World. Abingdon, Oxfordshire, UK: Routledge, 1998.
https://cdn.mises.org/Capital%20in%20Disequilibrium_2.pdf
BUSINESS CYCLES
Ebeling, Richard M., ed. The Austrian Theory of the Trade Cycle and Other Essays. Auburn, AL: Ludwig von Mises Institute, 1996.
https://cdn.mises.org/The%20Austrian%20Theory%20of%20the%20Trade%20Cycle%20and%20Other%20Essays_3.pdf
Huerta de Soto, Jesús. Money, Bank Credit, and Economic Cycles, translated by Melinda A. Stroup, 4th ed. Auburn, AL: Ludwig von Mises Institute, 2020.
https://cdn.mises.org/money_bank_credit_and_economic_cycles_4th_edition.pdf
Mises, Ludwig von. The Theory of Money and Credit. Translated by J. E. Batson. Auburn, AL: Ludwig von Mises Institute, 2009.
https://mises.org/library/theory-money-and-credit
Rothbard, Murray N. America’s Great Depression. 5th ed. Auburn, AL: Mises Institute, 2000.
https://cdn.mises.org/Americas%20Great%20Depression_3.pdf
Rothbard, Murray N. The Panic of 1819: Reactions and Policies. Auburn, AL: Ludwig von Mises Institute, 2007.
https://cdn.mises.org/The%20Panic%20of%201819%20Reactions%20and%20Policies_2.pdf
Temin, Peter. Lessons from the Great Depression. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1991.
METHOD AND ECONOMIC REASONING
Gordon, David. An Introduction to Economic Reasoning. Auburn, AL: Ludwig von Mises Institute, 2000.
https://cdn.mises.org/An%20Introduction%20to%20Economic%20Reasoning_4.pdf
Hoppe, Hans-Hermann. Economic Science and the Austrian Method. Auburn, AL: Ludwig von Mises Institute, 2007.
https://cdn.mises.org/Economic%20Science%20and%20the%20Austrian%20Method_3.pdf
Mises, Ludwig von. Theory and History: An Interpretation of Social and Economic Evolution. Auburn, AL: Ludwig von Mises Institute, 2007.
https://cdn.mises.org/Theory%20and%20History%20An%20Interpretation%20of%20Social%20and%20Economic%20Evolution_1.pdf
Mises, Ludwig von. The Ultimate Foundations of Economic Science: An Essay on Method. New York: D. Van Nostrand, 1962.
https://cdn.mises.org/Ultimate%20Foundation%20of%20Economic%20Science_3.pdf
Selgin, George A. Praxeology and Understanding: An Analysis of the Controversy in Austrian Economics. Auburn, AL: Ludwig von Mises Institute, 1990.
https://cdn.mises.org/Praxeology%20and%20Understanding%20An%20Analysis%20of%20the%20Controversy%20in%20Austrian%20Economics_3.pdf
Reprinted with the author’s permission.
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