Your the teacher...What would be your economic curriculum for PPers?

[Straight Ays]

I'm looking to start my own personal education this summer on economics. 

What would you suggest as the best economic basics book to start with and why?  This should not include investing books, but I leave it to you to decide what the difference is.

What would be your curriculum, if you had to be the teacher, and instruct a small class over the summer.  You get to meet for 3 hours a week for three months.  A total of 12 classes.  Above is your textbook.  How would you proceed?

[stone]

I wouldn't underestimate wikipeadia. It has a lot of very diverse entries. If you follow a single textbook or economist's online resource you could get a very unbalanced view. To me the utterly astonishing thing about economics is the utter lack of consensus about any of it especially the sort of global scale economics that is relevant to the PP. It is a bit like the various views about human physiology that were around in about 1400 in various parts of the world. The bottom line is that different people who like and follow the PP each have utterly divergent views on economics or none at all. The most important thing is to not let your personal views about economics sway you from the PP.

What I did was to read wikipeadia entries for lots of divergent economists eg Milton Friedman, Keynes, Hyeck, Adam Smith, Wynne Godley, David Ricardo, Kalecki etc. Pad that out with blogs such as Krugmans, PragCap, Mises institute, Billyblog etc. Above all try and make sense of what you read rather than simply learning it because it all contradicts each other. To me none of it tempted me to read any books but I guess that is very lazy of me.

[MediumTex]

"Economics in One Lesson" by Henry Hazlitt is great.

If you're a bit more ambitious "Human Action" by Ludwig von Mises is an amazing synthesis of the entire human condition and the myriad ways in which it manifests in the field of economics.  It's hard to say with a straight face that a 1,000 page book is really just an introduction, but von Mises' mind was so subtle you do walk away from "Human Action" feeling that you have just scratched the surface.

"The Worldly Philosophers" is a history of famous economists along with a discussion of their theories and contributions.  It's well-written and engaging.  I read it in college at the suggestion of an economics professor and I enjoyed it very much.

Although Keynesian policies are out of favor right now among many, Keynes was a brilliant man and "The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money" is a masterpiece even if you don't agree with all of his prescriptions.

One piece that I would recommend you read right now is Irving Fisher's 1933 article entitled The Debt Deflation Theory of Great Depressions.  You will find yourself saying "yes, yes, yes" as you read it even if you disagree with his suggestions for how to respond to a deflationary spiral.

[stone]

I'd also strongly recommend giving emphasis to the few reality anchors that DO exist. So read summaries of the actual laws and regulations that govern what banks actually do eg the wikipedia entries for Basel II and verify that at the BIS website. Same thing with the Fed website. That tends to blow out of the water a big chunk of what the bulk of economists witter on about.

[melveyr]

You can print out this PDF for free:
http://moslereconomics.com/wp-content/p ... s/7DIF.pdf

It's a book by Warren Mosler about the basics of the fiat monetary system. I enjoyed it. I think it can provided a nuanced understanding of government debt, which plays a huge role in the PP.

[Lone Wolf]

"Economics in One Lesson" by Henry Hazlitt is great.

This is a great book.  I'd have to put it at the top of the list too.

I also love Thomas Sowell's "Basic Economics".  This was the first book that solidified for me just how powerful the free market system really is.

I, Pencil is a great little essay on the power of markets and prices as incredible coordinators of information.  A nice, concrete glimpse at Hayek's idea of the "scarcity of knowledge".

I'd get a very firm grasp on microeconomics, supply vs. demand, how prices act as signals that coordinate the flow of goods, services and capital, the meaning of interest rates, etc. before I worried very much about macroeconomics.  Macroeconomics is just nowhere near as "fully baked" as micro, IMO, and there is a lot of conflicting, politicized information out there.  Some of it can, IMHO, actively work against your understanding of the fundamentals.

With micro, you really can get most of the "correct" answers.  With macro you have to go into things understanding that there will often not be a clear, correct answer.  I'd get the fundamentals down cold first.

[KevinW]

"Economics in One Lesson" by Hazlitt to cover general principles.

"Free to Choose" by Friedman to see how those principles apply to specific issues. For a class I might use the videos instead of the book.

"Inflation-Proofing Your Investments" by Browne has the clearest explanation of money creation and inflation that I've seen.

"The Intelligent Investor" by Graham, and some of Buffet's shareholder letters, illustrate the kind of thought that goes into fundamentals-driven capital investment. These border on investment books, but until I read them I don't think I really "got" how efficient markets work or why subsidies create market dislocations.

Depending on the target age, some of the "Stossel in the Classroom" videos could be good.  I particularly like the segment on his centrally-planned skating rink.

There are some lessons to be learned by playing an economic-themed board game or computer game. I think Settlers of Catan would work, and there are plenty more to choose from.

(When I was a kid I played a computer game that simulated the trucking business in Australia. I learned that the best tactic was to stockpile cash during prosperity and then buy liquidated trucks during recessions. And that it was cheaper to pay the fines for unsafe trucks than it was to maintain them properly. Not necessarily unrealistic!)

[MachineGhost]

I wouldn't underestimate wikipeadia. It has a lot of very diverse entries. If you follow a single textbook or economist's online resource you could get a very unbalanced view. To me the utterly astonishing thing about economics is the utter lack of consensus about any of it especially the sort of global scale economics that is relevant to the PP. It is a bit like the various views about human physiology that were around in about 1400 in various parts of the world. The bottom line is that different people who like and follow the PP each have utterly divergent views on economics or none at all. The most important thing is to not let your personal views about economics sway you from the PP.

I second that.  Wikipedia is an amazing phenomenom for learning in depth about the different economic schools of thought.  That being said, Wikipedia does lack a "moral imperative".  As it is publically peer reviewed to be "objective", it is not "passionate", so flavor and romance is lost from personal authorship.

For my introductory curriculum, I recommend the revised and expanded Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything and its sequel SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance which have many examples of how economics applies to everyday life.

For my moderate curriculum, I recommend watching the six-hour, three-part documentary Commanding Heights: The Battle for the World Economy.  Shiver me timbers!

For my advanced curriculum, I recommend Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do? which examines the gaps in economics about injustice, and Law's Order: What Economics Has to Do with Law and Why It Matters which examines how the rule of law is economics based.

And then for my utopian curriculum, I recommend The Machinery of Freedom: Guide to a Radical Capitalism which presents how a capitalist anarchy is possible, Private Enterprise Money: A Non-Political Money System which presents a free-market approach to issuing credit and avoiding inflation and deflation, and Sic Itur Ad Astra: The Theory of Volition which presents a blueprint for a durable, free, just and voluntary society.

MG

[Straight Ays]

That is perfect!  Thanks for posting Stone, MT, Melveyr, Lone Wolf, KevinW, and MG.  I like how Stone brought up the point about different theories from different people.  And following his post, that very observation plays out. 

[lazyboy]

You can print out this PDF for free:
http://moslereconomics.com/wp-content/p ... s/7DIF.pdf

It's a book by Warren Mosler about the basics of the fiat monetary system. I enjoyed it. I think it can provided a nuanced understanding of government debt, which plays a huge role in the PP.

Thanks for this link, melveyr. I don't know much about economics so I'm not sure how to fully evaluate what Warren Mosler is saying. But I found myself really energized by his analysis, remedies, clarity and optimism. If he's right then everyone has been wringing their hands and banging their heads against the wall for no reason, or at least the wrong reasons. I enjoyed his site:http://moslereconomics.com/ and videos on youtube. He also makes some awesome looking sports cars. http://www.moslerauto.com/

[stone]

lazyboy, did you see the link melvyr started specifically on Warren Mosler? http://gyroscopicinvesting.com/forum/ht ... ic.php?t=9

[lazyboy]

Thanks Stone, I check it out.