This is a list of important publications in economics, organized by field.
Some basic reasons why a particular publication might be regarded as important:
- Topic creator – A publication that created a new topic
- Breakthrough – A publication that changed scientific knowledge significantly
- Influence – A publication which has significantly influenced the world or has had a massive impact on the teaching of economics.<!-- The text of this lead section was substituted into this page from Template:List of publications intro. --><!--An entry in this list should include citations for statements about the importance of the publication. Otherwise it may be challenged and removed.-->
Political economy and economics
The Wealth of Nations
- Adam Smith
- An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, 1776.
- Read it on Wikisource
Description: The book is usually considered to be the beginning of modern economics. It begins with a discussion of the Industrial Revolution. Later it critiques the mercantilism and a synthesis of the emerging economic thinking of his time. It is best known for the idea of the invisible hand, although this idea is only mentioned once in the book.
- Journal of Economic Literature 34: 97–114, 1996.
Description: Emphasizes the difference between statistical significance and economic significance, and shows that the understanding is not clear in a review of papers from The American Economic Review.
Importance: Raised the caution against "asterisk economics" in econometrics to another level. See McCloskey critique.
Policy Evaluation: A Critique
- Lucas, Robert E. Junior
- in Brunner, K. and Meltzer, A. H. (eds.) The Phillips Curve and Labour Markets, Journal of Monetary Economics (Supplement), 1(xx), xx, pp. 19–46, 1976.
Description:
Importance:
Labor Economics
Human Capital: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis, with Special Reference to Education
- Gary S. Becker
- Chicago (IL), University of Chicago Press, 1964.
Description: Extensive study about the theoretical inclusion and empirical importance of education in production.
Importance: Classic study of how investment in an individual's education and training is similar to business investments.
Schooling, Experience, and Earnings
- Jacob Mincer
- Human Behavior & Social Institutions No. 2, ERIC, 1974.
Description: Empirical investigation of the labor market returns to education.
Importance: Popularizing the empirical research in that subfield. Coining the so-called "Mincer equation".
Behavioral economics
Advances in Behavioral Economics
- Camerer, C., Loewenstein, G., and M. Rabin.
- Princeton (NJ), Princeton University Press, 2003
Description: Definitive one-volume resource on the field.
Importance: Introduction
Judgment Under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases
- Tversky, A., and D. Kahneman.
- Science 185: 1124–31, 1974
Description:
Importance:
Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision Under Risk
- Kahneman, D., and A. Tversky.
- Econometrica 47: 263–91, 1979.
Description: In this article, Prospect theory, a descriptive theory of choices under uncertainty, is introduced, bringing together ideas from psychology (framing and probability weighting) and economics (expected utility).
Importance: Topic creator, Breakthrough
Irrational Behavior and Economic Theory
- Becker, G.
- Journal of Political Economy 70: 1-13, 1962.
Description: In this paper, Becker demonstrates that neoclassical economic demand curves follow simply from the fact that compensated price changes in the goods available to consumers with fixed budget sets cause corresponding shifts in the consumption opportunity sets of those consumers and thus do not require any assumptions about the rationality of market participants to justify their use.
Importance: Potentially debunks any economic policy or market level analysis implications of the field of behavioral economics.
Experimental economics
Experimental Economics: Rethinking the Rules
- Nicholas Bardsley, Robin Cubitt, Graham Loomes, Peter Moffatt, Chris Starmer & Robert Sugden
- Princeton (NJ), Princeton University Press, 2005.
Description: A first structured and methodical survey of economic methods, with a focus on methodology.
Importance: Consolidation of the field, methodological issues.
Behavioral Game Theory
- Camerer, C.F.
- Princeton (NJ), Princeton University Press, 2003.
Description: A handbook for advanced experimental and behavioral economics students.
Importance: Introduction
The Handbook of Experimental Economics
- Kagel, J. H. and Roth, A. E. (eds.)
- Princeton (NJ), Princeton University Press, 1995.
Description: The experimental economics handbook.
Importance: Introduction, Influence
Finance
Portfolio Theory
- Harry Markowitz
- "Portfolio Selection", Journal of Finance, 7 (1), 1952, 77–91.
Description: Development of the utility framework which shows an optimum can be reached using a portfolio of investments. In effect the first real proof that you should not put all your eggs in one basket.
Importance: Precursor to most modern portfolio theory work in finance.
Capital asset pricing model
- William F. Sharpe
- "Capital asset prices: A theory of market equilibrium under conditions of risk", Journal of Finance, 19 (3), 1964, 425–442
Description: Development of the capital asset pricing model used to determine appropriate prices for assets.
Importance: Topic creator, Influence
The pricing of options and corporate liabilities
- Fischer Black and Myron Scholes
- "The Pricing of Options and Corporate Liabilities" Journal of Political Economy 81, 1973, 637–654.
Description: It developed the Black–Scholes model for determining the price of options, in particular stock options. The use of the Black–Scholes formula has become pervasive in financial markets, and has been extended by numerous refinements.
Importance: Breakthrough, Influence
Socioeconomics
Ecological economics
The Entropy Law and the Economic Process (1971, Harvard University Press) by Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen.
Steady-State Economics (2nd edition, 1991, Island Press) by Herman Daly
Natural Capitalism, Paul Hawken
Small Is Beautiful, E.F. Schumacher
Consumer theory
Economics and Consumer Behavior, Deaton & Muellbauer, Cambridge.
Production theory
Industrial organization
The theory of Industrial Organisation
- Tirole, Jean
Description:
Importance:
Sunk costs and industry structure
- Sutton
Description:
Importance:
Managerial economics
- Png, Ivan (2002), Managerial Economics, 2nd edition, Malden, MA: Blackwell.
- Png, Ivan (2005), Managerial Economics, Asia-Pacific edition, Singapore: Pearson Education Asia.
Development economics
- The Theory of Economic Growth (1955) Arthur Lewis
Description: First modern development economics textbook
Importance: Introduction
- Development microeconomics (1999) Pranab Bardhan and Christopher Udry, Oxford
Description: Widely used textbook.
Importance: Introduction
- Development macroeconomics – Pierre-Richard Agénor and Peter J. Montiel.
Description: Widely used textbook.
Importance: Introduction
- Development Economics through the Decades: A Critical Look at 30 Years of the World Development Report (2009) – Shahid Yusuf.
Description: examines the last 30 years of development economics, viewed through the World Bank's World Development Reports.
- The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for our time (2005) Jeffrey Sachs
Welfare economics
The Economics of Welfare
- Arthur Cecil Pigou
- The Economics of Welfare, 4th ed. 1932
Description: Pigou was one of the most influential economists that dealt with Welfare economics. He developed the idea of Pigovian tax.
Importance: Topic creator, breakthrough, influence
Collective Choice and Social Welfare
- Amartya Sen
- Collective Choice and Social Welfare, 1970
Description: Inspired renewed interest in basic welfare issues, mentioned in Sen's Nobel citation
Importance: Influence
Health economics
Uncertainty and the Welfare Economics of Medical Care
- Kenneth Arrow
- American Economic Review 53(5): 941–973, 1963
Description: Explores the "specific differentia of medical care as the object of normative economics", demonstrating that the consideration of uncertainty is key to understanding markets in health care.
Importance: Generally considered a seminal work of enduring significance; key to the foundation of health economics as a field of study.
The Economics of Health and Health Care
- Folland S., Goodman AC. and Stano M.
- (4th edition). New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2001.
Description: The standard health economics textbook in most leading universities. It assumes some background knowledge in economics.
Importance: Introduction.
Handbook of Health Economics
- Culyer AJ. and Newhouse JP. (Eds) Volumes 1A and 1B. Elsevier: Amsterdam, 2000.
- Culyer AJ., McGuire TG. and Barros PP. (Eds) Volume 2. Elsevier: Amsterdam, 2011.
Description: The most comprehensive available collection of essays on contemporary health economics. Advanced readers will appreciate its mathematical rigor. Those who are seeking research or dissertation topics should find this two-volume set to be an invaluable resource.