Books Recommended by Economists
The books most recommended by economists, drawn from their real public recommendations.
36 experts · 24 most-recommended books · Updated on June 6, 2026
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Books economists recommend most
Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and HappinessRichard H. Thaler, Cass R. Sunstein
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, Revised EditionRobert B. Cialdini
Money and Government: The Past and Future of EconomicsRobert Skidelsky
Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and PovertyDaron Acemoglu, James A. Robinson
The Undoing Project: A Friendship That Changed Our MindsMichael Lewis
The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of PowerShoshana Zuboff
The Media, the Public and the Great Financial CrisisMike Berry
From Third World to First: The Singapore Story: 1965-2000Lee Kuan YewRecommended by Marc Alain Boucicault
Great Society: A New HistoryAmity ShlaesRecommended by Brian Wesbury
Sapiens: A Brief History of HumankindYuval Noah HarariRecommended by Dan Ariely
The Enlightenment: The Pursuit of Happiness, 1680-1790Ritchie RobertsonRecommended by James Pethokoukis
WTF?: What's the Future and Why It's Up to UsTim O'ReillyRecommended by Hal Varian
The Person You Mean to Be: How Good People Fight BiasDolly ChughRecommended by Katherine Milkman
The Future of Capitalism: Facing the New AnxietiesPaul CollierRecommended by George Akerlof
The Prosperity Paradox: How Innovation Can Lift Nations Out of PovertyClayton M Christensen, Efosa Ojomo, Karen DillonRecommended by Marc Alain Boucicault
What You Do Is Who You Are: How to Create Your Business CultureBen Horowitz, Henry Louis Gates Jr.Recommended by Marc Alain Boucicault
Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us AllMichael ShellenbergerRecommended by Anas Alhajji
The Trump Century: How Our President Changed the Course of History ForeverLou DobbsRecommended by John Carney
Red-Handed: How American Elites Get Rich Helping China WinPeter SchweizerRecommended by John Carney
Nightmare Scenario: Inside the Trump Administration's Response to the Pandemic That Changed HistoryYasmeen Abutaleb, Damian PalettaRecommended by Eric Feiglding
Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR NabiscoJ. Helyar B. BurroughRecommended by David Rothschild
The Return of the NativeThomas HardyRecommended by John Carney
Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show BusinessNeil Postman, Andrew PostmanRecommended by Stephen Kinsella
When China Rules the World: The End of the Western World and the Birth of a New Global OrderMartin JacquesRecommended by John Ashcroft
The economists
Dan Ariely
Professor of Behavioral Economics at Duke University
13 book recommendations
Gita Gopinath
Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund. On leave of public service from Harvard University’s Economics Department. Views are my own.
2 book recommendations
Noah Smith
Writes about economics, tweets about rabbits.
5 book recommendations
WW
Walter Williams
John M. Olin Distinguished Professor Economics, George Mason University
2 book recommendations
Jared Bernstein
Senior Fellow at @CenterOnBudget, former Chief Economist & Economic Adviser to Vice President Joe Biden. Views are my own.
2 book recommendations
Adam Tooze
Professor of History at Columbia University
10 book recommendations
John Carney
Dungeon Master. Economics and Finance editor. Formerly: WSJ, DealBreaker, B.I., CNBC, and Wall Street lawyer
9 book recommendations
AL
Arthur Laffer
Economic Advisor to President Ronald Reagan
2 book recommendations
Andrew Cohen
CEO of adaptive education platform @Brainscape. Ex-economist @BLS_Gov & @WorldBank. Startup Metrics Instructor @TechStars & @GA. Brooklyner.
2 book recommendations
David Rothschild
Senior Principal Researcher and Economist at Microsoft Research
5 book recommendations
MY
Muhammad Yunus
2006 Nobel Peace Laureate, Chair, Yunus Centre
3 book recommendations
GA
George Akerlof
Nobel Laureate in Economics, 2001
2 book recommendations
More Economists
- Jeff SteinWhite House economics reporter for The Washington Post. Puppy’s name is Acorn. NYR fan. Jeffrey.stein@washpost.com, Signal: 9178872891. Founder of @IthacaVoice.
- Steven LevittEconomist and Professor Emeritus at University of Chicago
- Brian WesburyChief Economist, First Trust Portfolios LP. The Antidote to Conventional Wisdom. Northwestern MBA. Trout (and Keynesians) tremble at the mention of my name.
- Martin WolfFinancial Times - Best Economics Books of 2023
- Tim HarfordMessy and The Undercover Economist
- Dani RodrikEconomist at Harvard Kennedy School
- Subramanian SwamyBJP Politician, Economist and Former Union Cabinet Minister
- John MauldinNew York Times Bestselling Author and Chairman of Mauldin Economics
- Gary Becker1992 Nobel Prize winner in economics
- Paul CollierProfessor of Economics, Oxford University
- Thomas SargentDepartment of Economics, New York University, Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University
- Hal VarianEmeritus Professor, UC Berkeley; Chief Economist, Google
- William EasterlyNYU Economics Professor. I am an expert on the other experts.
- Nathan TankusResearch Director @thepublicmoney.I write a newsletter on the Coronavirus Depression, Macroeconomics and Money called Notes on the Crises. Fiancé @NoahZazanis
- Bibek DebroyChairman-EAC-PM. Tweets personal. Economist, translation from Sanskrit (Penguin), columns (IE/FE), railway (BS), limericks (Mint). @EACtoPM handle of Council.
- Richard H. ThalerNobel laureate and Professor of Behavioral Science at Univ. of Chicago
- Kaushik BasuProfessor of Economics, Cornell University, and former Chief Economist of the World Bank
- Stephen KinsellaAssociate Professor of Economics, Kemmy Business School @UL. Senior Fellow, @GovernmentUoM. Hub leader @rebuildmacro.
- Diane CoyleThe Enlightened Economist. Bennett Professor of Public Policy, University of Cambridge.
- Katherine MilkmanProf. @Wharton @Penn, behavioral economist, judgment & decision making scholar, @CharlesSchwab #Choiceology podcast host https://t.co/jzUo2oW8wr
- Deirdre Nansen McCloskeyDistinguished Professor Emerita of Economics and History, University of Chicago
- Clive Lewis MpLabour MP for Norwich South. Shadow Treasury Minister for Sustainable Economics.Casework enquiries contact casework@clivelewis.org Tweets sometimes from staff
- Eric FeigldingEpidemiologist & Health Economist. Senior Fellow, FAS. Health Policy. Fmr 16 yrs @Harvard. RoomRater 10/10. COVID19 updates since Jan’20
- Mohamed A. ElerianChief Economic Adviser to Allianz. President-Elect of Queens’ College, Cambridge University. Authored "When Markets Collide" and “The Only Game in Town.”