What to read to get into Economics at Oxford or Cambridge?

George Moran is a past economics student at Magdalene College, Cambridge now working to share as much of his knowledge and experience with the next generation of students. Please check out our summer schools for a transformational economics experience taught directly by George (see here).

The foundations of any strong economics application to a top level university is a solid reading list with a series of books that are both thought provoking and make you stand out. Everybody else is reading Freakonomics and The Undercover Economist so what can you do to stand out!

The General Background

If your just getting started in your readings these texts will give you a good introduction to the some of the key discussion in economics beyond your A-level course. However, simply reading these books won't make your application stand out. This is the bare minimum!

• Undercover Economist: good introduction with thought provking , but not impressive and not worth putting on a personal statementexamples.

• Economics: A User’s Guide: another, but more advanced introduction. Written by Ha Joon Chang who was a first year Cambridge lecturer. A good book for introducing you to concepts outside of the A-level curriculum. Would highly recommend although not worth putting on personal statement (you will probably only mention two books: one classical and one contemporary on a specialist subject).

• New Ideas From Dead Economists by Todd Buchholz: a brilliant book which very elegantly explains the ideas of key historical thinkers. Useful context to may debates in economics today

• The Ascent of Money by Niall Ferguson: another brilliant book on economic/ financial history from an excellent author. Could mention on personal statement although slightly more history focused than economics focused

Specialist books

To really stand out you need to read some interesting texts that not everybody else is going to. I always recommend one book which is contemporary and focuses on a specific issue. This shows to an interviewer that you have done enough research to develop a niche, not just broad interest in economics. It also makes it look like you have a genuine interest because you have pursued a specific avenue of economics. Here are a few example topics and some relevant books.

• Globalisation: The Paradox of Globalisation by Dani Rodrik an good book at a level which I think will you but will be understandable. It presents a pretty comprehensive overview of the main debates in globalisation. Globalisation and Its Discontents by Joseph Stiglitz is quite a specific book about the IMF and why it has failed in its ’structural adjustment programmes’. An ok read on an interesting topic but probably a bit long.

• Development economics: The Tyranny of Experts by William Easterly this presents a persuasive argument for less government and aid agency involvement in development. Poor Economics from two Nobel Prize Winners; a must read in this field and presents some very interesting arguments on issues you may have thought were settled.

• Recessions: End This Depression Now! by Paul Krugman a brilliant book focused at a good level for A-level students. It summarises, albeit in a somewhat biased way, the main arguments surrounding the 2008 crisis. The End of Alchemy by Mervyn King I have not read this but I have heard very good things about it. Mervyn King is of course a former Bank of England governor. 

• Behavioural economics: I have not read either of these because I am not that interested in behavioural economics but I would like to and they are the main readings on this field: Thinking Fast and Slow written by one of the founders of behavioural economics and a very important book. Nudge by Richard Thaler an accessible and entertaining read based on what I have heard.

  
  

Classical books

As well as a specialist books in economics, a classic is a great way to stand out and show you have a respect for the history of economics and the key players in its development. Some of the classical books are fantastic reads and look very impressive on an application.

• Wealth of Nations Book 1 by Adam Smith:  this is the most famous work of economics and for a good reason. Adam Smith is an excellent writer and his writings still sound very relevant today. Book 1 (out of 5) present his main ideas so I would suggest only this could be read. The other books tend to be quite rambling in points although I can suggest other parts to read.

• Capitalism and Freedom by Milton Friedman: he is a strongly free market economist and provides very interesting insights on a wide range of topics. This is a good read because it covers a wide range of issues mainly focused on macroeconomic policy. The third greatest thinker in economics after Smith and Keynes.

• Political Economy and Taxation by David Ricardo: covers much of the same work as Keynes with slight changes. Not as elegant as the Wealth of Nations and slightly more complex but much shorter.

• Progress and Poverty by Henry George: a tremendously popular book when it was published and makes very insightful arguments on inequality and poverty most of which should be implemented but are not today. Not too long and well written.

Conclusion

So that should give you some food for thought! There's plenty more out there that looks equally good on an application. Please reach out to me at contact@elevateeconomics.co.uk and it would be great to see you on one of our courses!