Books and Tools for Economics Study — May 2024 Edition

just arrived via amazon.

Right then. Nothing might come out of this, but, I have started buying and collection books related to Economics.

Some things have already been done till this post. One, I have applied for MA Economics from IGNOU (where I am already doing BA in English. You can read my BA English Journey here). Since it is a distant university, with millions of students, and I have eligibility as per their official requirements, I am sure, my admission to MA Economics will be confirmed.

So, there is that.

Further, thanks to my MBA degree (with a minor in Finance) already makes me eligible for a PhD in Economics, which is the ultimate goal here.

With that set in stone, I am now moving on to gather the study material. One good thing that has happened due to a combination of luck and design, due to my BA English studies, I have gotten better at studying and learning again.

Re-learning to study. I have re-climbed that hill and gotten back into the routine of sitting and studying.

My first step was to spend a lot of time on the websites of various entrance exams. This gives me an idea about what matters to universities. As of now, an overseas PhD is ruled out. I don’t have the funds to support such an endeavor. Although, I am making efforts to make that an option. Anyway, an India based PhD is my only option for now.

Almost every PhD in India, even from a small university, requires to write a test. From my research, I found that they all use pretty much the same type of questions and material.

Ultimately, the tests expect knowledge in the following things.

1. Math Knowledge — The basics that were taught in high school and such.
2. Statistics — The stuff that is taught at Engineering degree level.
3. Economics — The primary concept
4. Indian Economics — The economics situation in India
5. Econometric and using Statistics for Economic studies.

So, this is essentially my syllabus. To be completed within the next 18 to 24 months. By then, I would have completed my BA English Degree, and hopefully (assuming my MA Economics admission is confirmed by IGNOU in the coming months), my MA Economics Degree. Even without the added privilege of an MA Economics Degree, I am bound by regulations to wait 18 months before beginning my PhD entrance tests.

That’s because, a student is not allowed to study anything else, once an admission to PhD is confirmed, legally. That means, I must wait for my BA Degree (and the possible MA Degree) to complete before actually beginning a PhD. If by some miracle/luck/chance/design, I get admission for PhD before June 2026, I will be forced to abandon my BA English Degree.

In the long list of priorities, for me, a BA English degree stands above all in my pursuit of academics. The MA Economics, PhD and anything else I am planning to study come a distant study.

So, I got to wait till 2026, and there is no other option. With that plan, set in stone, here are the books I have acquired with the above-mentioned entrance test syllabus. I am sure, like all plans, this plan too, and the books I acquire will evolve. Some purchases would be ignored (and hence, money and time wasted). Others will punch above their monetary value and become endlessly useful and end up making me very rich with knowledge, comfort and perhaps even money.

So, here we go.

Math Books

1. An introduction to the Theory of Statistics by G. Udny Yule — An old book that I obtained from the internet archive.
2. “A First Course in Statistics” by D. Caradog Jones — another old book that I obtained from the internet archive. I like internet archive, and ancient books for learning.
3. “The Fundamentals of Statistics” by L. L. Thurstone — another cool book from internet archive.
4. “Elements of Statistics” by Arthur Lyon Bowley — one more book from internet archive.
5. Mathematics for Class 8 by RS Aggarwal — yes, this stands out. This is really were I started with my math revision. It’s been 20 years since I did any real math. So, I used/use this book to revise the basics before I jump into the one of above advanced books.

Economics Books

1. Wealth of Nations. I have an hardbound copy of this (the blog post image above is my own). Of course, I also have the copy from internet archive. I also have a copy in my audible. Adam Smith is in my life in digital, physical and audio. Love this guy.
2. “Economics, 3rd Edition” is a comprehensive course taught by Professor Timothy Taylor. Now, this one, is on my audible collection. As I have mentioned in other posts on medium, I am a big fan of listening to books on literature (and now economics).
3. I am sure, I will need more books than this. For example, I may have to go deeper into microeconomics and macroeconomics. Game Theory. Social Mobility. Poverty. But, for now, I want to fix my foundational knowledge, firmly in place.

Software Tools

I decided to place my best on Stata.

This one took a while. I had no idea there is so much fragmentation in the world of statistics with every economics forum suggesting so many different tools for doing things on the computer.

Of course, choice is good. I am not complaining. However, I wish there was one tool that can simply be recommended for a first time Economics student. There is R and Python (which appeal to me because I have been coding for over 20 years). There is also SPSS (something which I was forced to use by an egoistic professor in my MBA days, way back in 2005). There is also SAS.

Of course, there is the endless overlap (these days) between these stastical tools and data science tools. This might be a good thing because, I might eventually end up exploring some data science money making opportunities with the economic skills I will be acquiring for the next few years.

Eventually, I decided to pick Stata. I mean, R and Python, I can always fallback anytime I want, with my decades of experience in coding. Stata, it seems, has a razor focus on academia. I have 2 years of MA in Economics. After that, 3 to 5 years of Phd studies. At least for 7 years, it’s all academia for me.

So, Stata it is. They have a student discount, and plenty of documentation books on how to use this tool. So, it’s good.

Wrap Up

And, there we have it. A few months from now, all of this might seem futile. I might not be doing economics at all (because life is so unpredictable, although, I myself am firm on this).

As always, fingers crossed.

I am a hobbyist economics guy. more about me on my website and github.