Robert Solow
Institute Professor Emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Nobel Laureate in Economics
Book Recommendations:
Recommended by Robert Solow
“Any critical observer of current debates about the state of the macro economy needs a clear understanding of a half-dozen basic concepts, how they are measured, and how they are connected. David Moss’s short, jargon-free book provides just that. It does not tell you what should be done, but how to begin thinking about what should be done.” (from Amazon)
Understanding the Ground Rules for the Global Economy In this revised and updated edition of A Concise Guide to Macroeconomics, David A. Moss draws on his years of teaching at Harvard Business School to explain important macro concepts using clear and engaging language. This guidebook covers the essentials of macroeconomics and examines, in a simple and intuitive way, the core ideas of output, money, and expectations. Early chapters leave you with an understanding of everything from fiscal policy and central banking to business cycles and international trade. Later chapters provide a brief monetary history of the United States as well as the basics of macroeconomic accounting. You’ll learn why countries trade, why exchange rates move, and what makes an economy grow. Moss’s detailed examples will arm you with a clear picture of how the economy works and how key variables impact business and will equip you to anticipate and respond to major macroeconomic events, such as a sudden depreciation of the real exchange rate or a steep hike in the federal funds rate. Read this book from start to finish for a complete overview of macroeconomics, or use it as a reference when you’re confronted with specific challenges, like the need to make sense of monetary policy or to read a balance of payments statement. Either way, you’ll come away with a broad understanding of the subject and its key pieces, and you’ll be empowered to make smarter business decisions.
Recommended by Robert Solow
“Reading Daron Acemoglu's massive and masterly survey makes me feel like one of the Wright brothers coming face to face with a Boeing 747 for the first time. The range is enormous, from the simplest model to the political economy of growth, and everything is traced back to fundamentals with great skill and care. Being stranded on a desert island with this book and a large pad of paper would be a pleasure.” (from Amazon)
From Nobel Prize–winning economist Daron Acemoglu, an incisive introduction to economic growth Introduction to Modern Economic Growth is a groundbreaking text from one of today's leading economists. Daron Acemoglu gives graduate students not only the tools to analyze growth and related macroeconomic problems, but also the broad perspective needed to apply those tools to the big-picture questions of growth and divergence. And he introduces the economic and mathematical foundations of modern growth theory and macroeconomics in a rigorous but easy to follow manner. After covering the necessary background on dynamic general equilibrium and dynamic optimization, the book presents the basic workhorse models of growth and takes students to the frontier areas of growth theory, including models of human capital, endogenous technological change, technology transfer, international trade, economic development, and political economy. The book integrates these theories with data and shows how theoretical approaches can lead to better perspectives on the fundamental causes of economic growth and the wealth of nations. Innovative and authoritative, this book is likely to shape how economic growth is taught and learned for years to come. Introduces all the foundations for understanding economic growth and dynamic macroeconomic analysisFocuses on the big-picture questions of economic growthProvides mathematical foundationsPresents dynamic general equilibriumCovers models such as basic Solow, neoclassical growth, and overlapping generations, as well as models of endogenous technology and international linkagesAddresses frontier research areas such as international linkages, international trade, political economy, and economic development and structural changeAn accompanying Student Solutions Manual containing the answers to selected exercises is available (978-0-691-14163-3/$24.95). See: https://press.princeton.edu/titles/8970.htmlFor Professors only: To access a complete solutions manual online, email us at: acemoglusolutions@press.princeton.edu
Recommended by Robert Solow
“One of the things that makes economics interesting and difficult is the need to balance the neat generalities of theory against the enormous variety of deviations from standard assumptions...” (from Amazon)
The winners of the Nobel Prize show how economics, when done right, can help us solve the thorniest social and political problems of our day. Figuring out how to deal with today's critical economic problems is perhaps the great challenge of our time. Much greater than space travel or perhaps even the next revolutionary medical breakthrough, what is at stake is the whole idea of the good life as we have known it. Immigration and inequality, globalization and technological disruption, slowing growth and accelerating climate change--these are sources of great anxiety across the world, from New Delhi and Dakar to Paris and Washington, DC. The resources to address these challenges are there--what we lack are ideas that will help us jump the wall of disagreement and distrust that divides us. If we succeed, history will remember our era with gratitude; if we fail, the potential losses are incalculable. In this revolutionary book, renowned MIT economists Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo take on this challenge, building on cutting-edge research in economics explained with lucidity and grace. Original, provocative, and urgent, Good Economics for Hard Times makes a persuasive case for an intelligent interventionism and a society built on compassion and respect. It is an extraordinary achievement, one that shines a light to help us appreciate and understand our precariously balanced world.