If you were queen for a day and could require all students to read one book in the field of economics, what would it be and why?
As queen for a day, I would rather give everyone some advice on how to locate one economics book they might enjoy. My goal for them would be to find an aspect of economics that really lights their fire or, as a mentor of mine, Dr. Ken Elzinga at UVa likes to say, “stirs their cocoa.”
One type of book I often recommend to young economists and other economic novices is those that nurture economic intuition. These include books for a general audience that use economics to understand otherwise strange or paradoxical realities including volumes by Steven Landsburg and Daniel Hamermesh, any of the four fictional works featuring an economist-sleuth who solves murders, written under the pseudonym Marshall Jevons, and other novels that, sometimes rather subtly, impart economic perspective like Russ Roberts’ The Invisible Heart.
These books teach basic economics in a fun way which is a great for finding some traction with the economic way of thinking. To others, perhaps those who are interested in political economy, philosophy, history, or policy--those students of the liberal arts, say--I would recommend some of the classics. Hazlitt’s Economics in One Lesson and Bastiat’s The Law make clear that unintended consequences are pervasive. Such a lesson is key to economic literacy. Adam Smith is still extremely relevant and insightful. Too few professonial economists, even, have read The Wealth of Nations and even fewer The Theory of Moral Sentiments. Authors like Ludwig von Mises and F.A. Hayek are a good read for those who grapple with big ideas related to economic systems, the role of the state, the importance of institutions, the wonder of the price system, etc. In fact, for those who are broadly curious about these sorts of things, even classic works of fiction--I’m thinking of Solzhenitsyn’s One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich or Orwell’s 1984--can spur some helpful economic thinking.
Finally, if there is a particular human issue or policy that someone is interested in, I might recommend they locate an economics journal and peruse its offerings on the topic. If someone is interested in education, for example, just skimming the titles and abstracts of the last few volumes of the Economics of Education Review would be enlightening about the variety of things that economists do within that broad topic area. If someone is interested in law (and maybe especially if they don’t think they’re interested in economics), I’d love to see them read a few articles that pique their interest in the Journal of Law and Economics. If s/he is interested in marriage and fertility behaviors or concerned about criminal behavior, addiction, or discrimination, s/he should read some Gary Becker. You can skip all the mathematical theory and econometrics for now, if you’d like.
I know I’ve missed many similarly useful texts, including many by the other economists you’ve interviewed, so I encourage your readers to look at what each of them have written as well. Still, I hope this typology is helpful to any individual who wants to think carefully about where he might his initial enthusiasm for economics.
Was there a particular person—a professor or someone outside of academia—who played an important role in your decision to become an economist?
I went into college thinking I'd like to be a politician. I quickly realized that compromise and telling people what they want to hear, well, neither was my cup-of-tea, so holding elected office mightn't be my best plan. Better yet, I love exploring big ideas, and there is another discipline (something that didn't even resemble what it looked like in high school) that did suit me: economics. I would say now, in hindsight, that it helped me understand better how God made my particular mind to work. The first person who influenced my decision to become an economist was someone I never met, Ludwig von Mises. In reading his book Liberalism I felt I had found a kindred spirit, and I realized I was an economist. (Not that I wanted to be an economist, rather I was made to be an economist.) After that, my undergraduate economics professors, especially my advisor Dr. Lee Coppock (now at UVa), played important roles in my decision to become a professional economist by nurturing my passion for economics as well as my economic intuition.
Realizing a passion for the subject matter and methodology of economics is crucial, of course, but just having an awareness that becoming a professional economist is possible is important as well. The first time I recall thinking about graduate school, a necessary step for becoming a professional economist, was my sophomore year at Hillsdale College, when the lecturer of my business statistics course, Mrs. Jacquelyn Blackstock, suggested to my parents that I should consider it. It is kind of a funny story, because Hillsdale, at least at that time, had something like parent-teacher conferences during Parents Weekend and my parents, always supportive and ever dutiful, took the opportunity to meet my professors. It is interesting that they're part of the story, because it was they who asked Mrs. Blackstock thinking outloud,"But how will she pay for it?" No one in my family had ever pursued a Ph.D. before, and as with many families of undergraduate students, we were all still worrying about how to pay for college. Mrs. Blackstock replied kindly, "She won't have to pay for it. They'll pay her." What a fantastic realization that grad school could be affordable (in reality, for some it can be almost lucrative at points) and that I could continue to pursue my passion without that particular challenge! I often reflect on this story, frequently sharing it with my most-promising students. First, this story provides me an opportunity to help current undergraduates refocus their efforts and energies on what is really crucial for getting into grad school and persisting on to becoming a full-fledged economist. Lacking high-level mathematical reasoning and skills, solid economic intuition, or intellectual curiosity are deal breakers. It should be a relief that, for those who possess these skills, affordability is much less of a concern. And second, this story reminds me not to assume that a good student is going to understand what he or she is capable of or what opportunities could lie ahead of them. I shouldn’t be subtle in my encouragement.
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