UNDERSTANDING ECONOMICS – SOME RECOMMENDED READING

Have you ever wondered why our Australian economic system is structured in the way that it is? And why is it that our economy is so different (or similar) to those in other countries? We explore some recommended reading to help with understanding economics.

The complex and varied economic/political systems operating throughout our world today were designed, created and influenced by academic economists over many centuries. The philosophies of these thinkers vary considerably, but each one of them has had an immense impact on the development of the world in which we live. And importantly, their philosophies are still relevant to solving modern economic problems.

Acknowledging this, British-American economist and broadcaster, Linda Yueh has written a readable and authoritative work titled “The Great Economists: How Their Ideas Can Help Us Today”. In it, she describes the philosophies, ideologies and policy prescriptions of the world’s greatest economists.

They include Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Friedrich Hayek, Joan Robinson, John Maynard Keynes and Milton Friedman, to name but six out of her list of twelve key economists since the late 18th century. 

Yeuh asks how would Keynes deal with government austerity? What would Marx tell us about China’s future? Who would defend globalisation in the age of Brexit and isolationism? In one short volume, the author expertly outlines how twelve of history’s greatest economists would contribute to solving our current economic challenges.

In the words of Newsweek magazine, this book is “a highly accessible and living evaluation…the author has a way of simplifying the arcane”.