Coming July
THE LITERARY BOOK OF ECONOMICS
Including Readings from Literature and Drama on Economic Concepts, Issues, and Themes
Edited, with commentary, by Michael Watts
List Item No. 341
ISBN: 1-932236-02-3 (cloth)
pages
List Price: $28.00
Internet Special: $23.80 — PRE
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The Literary Book of Economics is one of the most innovative approaches to economic education and literacy ever published. As empirical research has demonstrated, economics is taught more effectively when integrated into other fields, and is perhaps particularly effective when coupled with the classic literary works of Western culture, which allows great authors to use their erudition to convey economic concepts and topics too often treated only theoretically. Teachers and students of literature and economics have much to gain by studying economic topics and concepts in this way. Including helpful commentary from Professor Watts, The Literary Book of Economics is a refreshing treatment of the "dismal science," presenting a cogent explication of free-market theory.
What They're Saying...
"The Literary Book of Economics, by Michael Watts, is brilliant. It is not only sound economics but a good read as well. And just as great literature opens other worlds to us, this insightful and imaginative presentation of the basic concepts and principles of economics helps us better to understand the workings of this world. This book should be in the hands of every teacher of economics and indeed of every literate person."
—Robert F. Duvall, President and CEO of The National Council on Economic Education
"I have used many of these selections in senior level economics classes. Students find the exercise interesting. They enjoy making connections across boundaries that initially look insurmountable. I suspect they also enjoy using their newly acquired insights to impress their humanities professors."
—John Siegfried, Professor of Economics, Vanderbilt University
"For the past twenty years, Professor Michael Watts has been giving presentations across the country on the use of literature in the teaching of economics. He has finally committed to text his seemingly inexhaustible supply of examples ranging from Shakespeare to Ayn Rand. This is a must-have book for the shelves of every teacher of economics."
—William E. Becker, Professor of Economics, Indiana University and Executive Editor of the Journal of Economic Education
"Two cultures? Literature and economics are not as far apart as you might think. Michael Watts's well chosen excerpts bring basic economics to life."
—John McMillan, author, Reinventing the Bazaar
"Michael Watts is to be thanked for producing a book full of examples connecting economics with the literary world. Instructors will find it useful for embellishing lectures and creating exam questions. It is a fine work of scholarship, sure to be an interesting read to all literary-minded economists."
—Peter Kennedy, Professor of Economics, Simon Fraser University
"This book demonstrates delightfully that literature offers subtle and stimulating insights on matters well outside its own domain. The many and well selected examples on a broad range of economic issues will please the student and the general reader alike, and permit comprehension of overtones not readily conveyed by the necessarily nuanceless prose in the technical writings of the specialists."
—William Baumol, Professor of Economics, New York University
"Imagine a book that can broaden and enrich the perspective of economists and communicate to non-economists how economic insights complement literature in exploring the essence of the human experience. Imagine no more. Michael Watts has provided us with just this book with his The Literary Book of Economics."
—Dwight R. Lee, Ramsey Professor of Economics, University of Georgia
"The Literary Book of Economics is the perfect marriage of Michael Watts's life long love of economics and his enduring passion for literature. With a skillful mix a classical and contemporary literature, this book makes a wonderful classroom text for the economist seeking a fresh approach for making relevant the ideas that form the foundation of economic thinking. This innovative pedagogical technique is a boon for the professor trying to capture the attention of those students who claim to enjoy economics the least. Students who are intimidated by math and graphs can appreciate economics when they have the flexibility to gain understanding through media as universal as literature, drama, and poetry. This book is also a necessary addition to the collection of any economist who loves literature or wants to experience the economic discipline in a new and exciting context."
—Gail M. Hoyt, Professor of Economics, University of Kentucky
Selections Include:
- John Milton on the allocation of scarce natural resources;
- F. Scott Fitzgerald on scarcity and choice;
- John Dos Passos on entrepreneurship;
- George Orwell on productivity;
- Arthur Miller on competition;
- Alexander Pope on economic incentives;
- Charles Dickens on externalities;
- Ayn Rand on freedom of choice;
- Joseph Heller on supply and demand;
- Robert Frost on private property.
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