Recommendations from our site
“It is an important book because it is the first attempt to link together inflation and output. In some sense it is the basis for many of the books that have been written since about inflation, monetary policy and the real side of the economy.” Read more...
Federica Romei, Economist
“A Monetary History provides the story of the struggle over successive monetary regimes to get the monetary system right. It doesn’t get to the last part of the story, but it gets a lot of the story, at least from a US perspective.” Read more...
The best books on Monetary Policy
Lars Christensen, Economist
“When we look at the monetary history of the United States and ask whether, during those times, the central bank looked anything like it does now, the answer is ‘no’. It’s a book that addresses why that was” Read more...
The Economics of Coronavirus: A Reading List
Ricardo Reis, Economist
“It’s clear that a lot of the policies that were put into place were negative, but as to sorting out how important they were, that’s much more challenging.” Read more...
The best books on The Lessons of the Great Depression
Robert Barro, Economist
“If you buy only one economics book, it should be this. The book is important for our understanding of the Great Depression, but its impact goes far beyond that. Friedman and Schwartz show us that monetary events and monetary policy have affected real output throughout American history.” Read more...
The best books on Learning from the Great Depression
Christina Romer, Economist
“There was an accepted understanding of why it was that the economy went into this searing experience for a generation of Americans and what it was that got the US out again.” Read more...
David Frum recommends five Pioneering Conservative Books
David Frum, Political Commentator
As economic activity looks set to slow dramatically in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, attention has turned to what governments and central banks can do to mitigate the worst effects of the downturn. This is a seminal work on the causes of the Great Depression in the United States. Schwartz and Friedman blamed the intensity of the depression on the Federal Reserve. Ben Bernanke credited this work with ensuring the Fed didn’t make the same mistakes in 2008/09.
Our most recommended books
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A Monetary History of the United States, 1867-1960
by Anna Schwartz & Milton Friedman -
The Passions and the Interests
by Albert Hirschman -
How the World Became Rich: The Historical Origins of Economic Growth
by Jared Rubin & Mark Koyama -
The Great Divergence: China, Europe, and the Making of the Modern World Economy
by Kenneth Pomeranz -
Red Ink
by David Wessel -
Economic Sentiments: Adam Smith, Condorcet and the Enlightenment
by Emma Rothschild
