Good Economics book for developers

Question

Joel mentions in several of his blog posts that it is very important for a developer/software entrepreneur to have solid understanding of Economics. Yet the Fog Creek MBA book reading list does not include any Economics books.

Is there any good material that people can recommend? Obviously, I am not as concerned about mathematical treatise as foundations and basic principles. For example, I was able to find a very good high-level read on Macroeconomics:

Concise Guide to Macroeconomics

but I am yet to find anything similar on Microeconomics. Any suggestions and reading pointers would be highly appreciated.

Answer 1

"Free to Choose" by Milton Friedman is an excellent treatise on free-market supply and demand economics

Answer 2

I think the best book for developers is one that would be entertaining and keep you reading. So while not exactly textbooks, I would recommend the Armchair Economist and Freakonomics as entertaining and educational reads.

As a developer I also really enjoyed Trading and Exchanges which talks a lot about actual markets, and what the various participants are doing.

Answer 3

"Economics" by Paul A. Samuelson (MIT) and William D. Nordhaus (Yale).

This is a classic and yet very readable. I cannot say how much I appreciate that book.

I also recommend this a lot to my friends, though not necessarily on Economics.

A Random Walk Down Wall Street: Including a Life-Cycle Guide to Personal Investing

by Burton G. Malkiel

Answer 4

Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt. Informal writing style. Short. Good intro to economics. Comes from a Friedman bent. This is a great place to get an introduction to the subject.

Answer 5

Well, not exactly Economics, but The Complete Guide to Capital Markets for Quantitative Professionals is a fantastic book for developers in the financial sector.

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Quantitative-Professionals-McGraw-Hill-Investment/dp/0071468293

I hope this was not too far off topic.

Answer 6

It's out of print, but look in your library for 'Famous Financial Fiascos ' by the Wall Street Journal editor John Train. This is a small, short, and fun informal book that will give life to the weightier tombs you'll need to read. It's very relevant to today, for sure.

Answer 7

It's a broad question, and the answer's likely to vary based on what precisely you're interested in. The Undercover Economist by Tim Harford is nice if you're just looking for a math- and theory-light explanation of basic concepts like rent seeking, etc.

Answer 8

• Wealth of Nations (the classic)
• Employment, Interest, and Money (the neoclassic)
• Freakonomics (the postmodern)
• Game Theory (economics for mathematicians)
• Value and Capital (classic on microeconomics)

All economics lies therein - as an outside observer it's a fascinating subject :)

Answer 9

The Undercover Economist is the journalist Tim Harford who writes for the FT and has written a book by the same name. In the same vein as Freakonomics - also an excellent book

Answer 10

I recommend Economics for Real People by Gene Callahan.

While this book is a great intro for everyone, it's particularly suited to developers/entrepreneurs for several reasons.

Economics is actually about people, and our choices and actions, not central planning and statistical models. Entrepreneurs who understand this reality and how it works are far more likely to succeed than those exposed solely to more traditional, mathematical approaches.

Callahan presents economics from the Austrian School perspective. The Austrian School is based on deductive reasoning from simple first principles, which resonates strongly with me as a developer steeped in logic. It also doesn't hurt that Austrian School economists are the only people who foresaw our current economic disaster and offer the only rational approach to dealing with it.

Answer 11

Listen to Peter Schiff

Answer 12

Listen to the radio (podcast) broadcasts at Financial Sense and read the articles.

Answer 13

A couple of other suggestions:

The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman may be a useful book about globalization, businesses and a few other topics that are a tangent to economics.

Reading List over on the Efficient Frontier site may also be worth reading from an investing or business view rather than the pure outsider perspective.

Answer 14

Economics by Walter J. Wessels, Fourth edition. Chapter 3 (from my own copy) sections:

How to study supply and demand.

Price.

The demand curve.

Supply and the law of supply.

The supply curve.

Market equilibruim.

etc...

I'm also a geek turned business owner. I also became fascinated with macro economics during the 2008 meltdown. Between this book, NPR's planet money podcast and a monthly subscription to the online version of ft.com I feel a lot more empowered. Also if you can get it, watch Bloomberg and listen to Tom Keene "On the economy" on Bloomberg radio available on Siruis satellite radio.