We spent 46 hours on research, videography, and editing, to review the top choices for this wiki. Whether you simply want to get a sense of how the economy works at its most basic level or you’re studying the field in preparation for a career that requires a thorough understanding of the topic, one of these economics textbooks will provide you with all the knowledge you could possibly need. We’ve ranked them here by content quality, level of complexity, and educational value. When users buy our independently chosen editorial picks, we may earn commissions to support our work.
10. Economics for Dummies
- New chapter on behavioral economics
- Several perspectives on each issue
- Graphs are difficult to read
| Brand | Flynn, Sean |
|---|---|
| Model | pending |
| Weight | 1.2 pounds |
| Rating | 4.1 / 5.0 |
9. Economics Today: The Micro View
- Appealing to various learning styles
- Good length of 552 pages
- Marred by lots of typos
| Brand | Miller, Roger LeRoy |
|---|---|
| Model | pending |
| Weight | 2.3 pounds |
| Rating | 3.8 / 5.0 |
8. Principles in Action
- Chapter and section tests
- Perfect for high school seniors
- No engaging anecdotes or stories
| Brand | O’Sullivan, Arthur |
|---|---|
| Model | pending |
| Weight | 3.3 pounds |
| Rating | 4.0 / 5.0 |
7. Economics in One Lesson
- Great for libertarians
- Short 3- to 6-page chapters
- Too conservative for many readers
| Brand | Economics in One Lesson |
|---|---|
| Model | pending |
| Weight | 6.4 ounces |
| Rating | 4.3 / 5.0 |
6. Economics by Hubbard & O’Brien
- Perfect for aspiring business owners
- References very current issues
- Authors can be slightly biased
| Brand | Hubbard, R. Glenn |
|---|---|
| Model | pending |
| Weight | 5.4 pounds |
| Rating | 4.2 / 5.0 |
5. Mishkin Economics of Money
- Very clean layout
- Draws on real banking work
- Can be a little dry
| Brand | Mishkin, Frederic S. |
|---|---|
| Model | pending |
| Weight | 3 pounds |
| Rating | 4.2 / 5.0 |
4. Principles, Problems & Policies
- Includes an adaptive ebook
- Several helpful visuals
- Realistic examples
| Brand | McConnell, Campbell R. |
|---|---|
| Model | pending |
| Weight | 4.1 pounds |
| Rating | 4.5 / 5.0 |
3. Economics by Krugman and Wells
- Global comparisons of concepts
- Applies theory to reality well
- Little room in the margins for notes
| Brand | Worth Publishers |
|---|---|
| Model | pending |
| Weight | 5 pounds |
| Rating | 4.8 / 5.0 |
2. Principles of Economics
- Chapters are well laid out
- Writing is clear and easy to digest
- Written by a harvard professor
| Brand | Mankiw, N. Gregory |
|---|---|
| Model | pending |
| Weight | 3.7 pounds |
| Rating | 5.0 / 5.0 |
1. Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell
- No prior knowledge needed
- A neutral exposition of the economy
- Straightforward enough for teenagers
| Brand | Basic Books |
|---|---|
| Model | pending |
| Weight | 2 pounds |
| Rating | 4.8 / 5.0 |
An Economy Of Words: Choosing An Economics Textbook
Most people think of the study of economics as an examination of the way money flows throughout various systems, from the home to the bank, the banks to businesses, across international borders, and so forth. In fact, though, a thorough understanding of economic principles is critical for making sense of much more than just the ways in which money is used and exchanged; economic concerns underpin everything from political to military to cultural sensibilities, impacting almost every aspect of our lives. There is an economic angle to everything from agriculture to aerospace, from the arts to academics and beyond.
In short, anyone who wants to have a grounded, nuanced understanding of myriad topics should have at least a basic understanding for the major concepts in the field of economics. And that base of knowledge can come from a great economics textbook.
When shopping for an “econ” textbook, you must first consider the reasons for which you are in the market, as it were, before looking for a specific book. This is true because, broadly speaking, you can consider one of two types of books in this discipline. The first is a general economics textbook, one that introduces and explains the major theories, concepts, and factors that influence the field. The other approach looks at a much more specific aspect of the study of economics, such as a text geared toward someone working on a business degree (or simply trying to better understand business) or written for someone with an interest in monetary or banking policy who may want to be involved in the legal and/or political worlds.
If you simply want a better understanding of the anything-but-simple world of economics, look for a textbook written for a 101-level college course that is not geared toward a specific area of the subject. You can also try one of the many popular books written long-form prose more akin to a regular nonfiction book than in textbook format; just try to ascertain if the author has any editorial bent (a.k.a. a bias) before committing to one of these books, as they may present information in a less-than-objective manner.
If you do want to delve into a specific area of economic study, it won’t be hard to find a volume that can match your interests. Just be sure that you have enough grounding in the subject to where a multi-hundred page focused on federal policy will make sense instead of washing over you in a veritable tidal wave of acronyms and jargon.
The casual economic enthusiast may only need to read one book broadly covering the topic to gain the insights he or she seeks; the person wanting or needing specialized knowledge might need to start with a general survey-style book, then move on to their more niche reading.
Economy 101: The Two Main Areas Of Study
When the “armchair economist” is asked about the pivotal concepts underpinning the study of the discipline, she will surely answer that they are microeconomics and macroeconomics. But if asked to elucidate these broad concepts, chances are good that the response will be a pause and perhaps a shrug. (That is, unless she has already read an econ textbook.) If you only understand the definition of two terms in this multifaceted discipline, it must be these two: micro and macro.
Very simply put, the study of microeconomics involves looking at a specific market or segment, wherein the word market denotes a distinct system. This can mean studying the finances, accounting, and investments of the average household or small business, for example. The segments in question can involve the supply and demand patterns of one specific industry (tobacco and sugar both offer fascinating data for those interested in watching trends), or of specific aspects of a the larger economy, such as studying how wages have risen, fallen, or otherwise changed over time (seeing how incentives such as insurance and stock options balance against cash salaries, for example).
Macroeconomics, on the other hand, studies how all the aforementioned markets and segments — and of course so many more — are interconnected and interdependent, and how large forces such as government policy, stock market trends, and large-scale influencers such as war, climate changes, new technologies, and so forth have an impact on currency, trade, wages, and so forth.
In the world of microeconomics, you should be ready to study the individual consumer, the choices they make, and why. In macroeconomics, you will look at the policies lawmakers create, the reasons why regulations were formed, and the impact they have over time. Microeconomics often involves studying data collected during a single year; macroeconomics might involve studying information gleaned over a decade if not from the course of many generations.
Other Resources To Bolster Your Economics Education
If you want to burnish your credentials as an economist but you’re not quite ready to enroll in the London School of Economics, then you should be prepared to do a fair amount of reading. One of the best ways to gain a deep understanding of the concepts at play in this realm is to stay abreast of the daily news concerned with economics.
The best resources for doing so are the newspapers The Wall Street Journal and the the Financial Times. The former is (and has long been) considered America’s best daily resource for news and analysis of the world of finance, the stock market, and more. The latter takes a more international perspective, covering global trade and markets in more detail than the Journal, but often skipping over domestic stories.
Listening to the radio all day long or having the TV flickering away in the corner for hours on end are both poor ways to gain viable knowledge about any topic, especially on so complex and multifaceted as economics. Instead, choose one or two radio programs or podcasts that you can trust to be objective and tune in daily when you can truly focus. Humans are notoriously bad at multitasking, so choose an activity you can complete without it drawing your attention as you listen — cleaning or cooking come readily to mind, and NPR’s Marketplace is a fine choice program for daily information on stocks, business, regulations, and more.
When it comes to television, the 24-hour news channels — even those with an economic bent like MSNBC — simply produce to much programming for most of it to be meaningful. Rather than being lost in the blathered opinion of multiple talking-head “reporters,” instead seek out re-cap style such as CNN’s Your Money, which airs on weekends when there is time to digest the week’s news and add a bit of context to it.