How to get started in Economics?
Students who are new to economics, they often get confused whether this subject adds any value or are they even interested in going through this subject. This post is only for beginners in economics and I will be sharing how to get started in Economics with some basic requirements and the books you can try.
The world is full of people who wrote economics books, but I will share my personal experience with whatever books I have read and found to be suitable for the freshers in economics. Feel free to leave your valuable comments, I already appreciate it.
Why you should choose Economics
- If you are good in practicals, have good mathematical analysis skills. You must give economics a try.
- It is interesting, and it is not about mugging up or cramming day and night, or names of the persons, etc.
- Economics is logical, it teaches you the working around the economy.
- You learn newspaper terms; like inflation, interest rates, goods, and services, etc.
- If you really want to study your economy, the job situation, price determination of different commodities, then go ahead. Else economics is not for you. Try something else, which you feel more interested in.
- Don’t force economics on your self. If you like it, you will understand. But, if you are not interested, it is fine. Go ahead, find something that interests you.
What are the requirements to opt for economics?
Basic Mathematics
You should have a fair knowledge of mathematics like you should be able to memorize some formulas for calculating numerical in it.
Good with drawing graphs
In economics, you learn different types of curves, and you draw lots of graphs on XY coordinates. If you like making graphs, then you are in the right place.
Alternative names
There are many alternative names used in economics for the same concept. For example, the change in quantity demanded and movement along the demand curve are the same. The production possibility curve is also known by the transformation curve or production possibility frontier. So, if you can manage to identify these names then you must study economics.
Consistency
Economics is a vast subject, you should be regular in studying or attending classes. Else, it starts becoming difficult to comprehend. Everything in economics is somehow interlinked. Its not a theory subject, for which you can just borrow notes and mug up a day before the exam. Then you won’t be able to pass on this subject. Be regular, and practice more to achieve proficiency.
Keep a proper notes register
This helps a lot, has properly maintained notes, in sequence. Practicing with proper labeling. All these things count, the more you revise them, the more you like this subject. Spending time reading economics articles, books, listening to economics books, is directly related to increasing your interest in knowing more about this subject.
Economics Books for Beginners
Economics has 2 main branches: microeconomics and macroeconomics (there are also related subjects with economics like statistics in the economy, econometrics, international trade, and so on). I will share some of my favorite books that are student-friendly and helps in generating their interest in economics.
It is my personal opinion, for economics understanding, and when I say understanding, I mean to clear your base level economics, you can refer to the following books. Remember do not set a goal to only pass on this subject. It is a useful subject if you can apply it in practice.
I am recommending these books out of my personal experience. As when I started learning economics, my teacher was not able to create my interest in this subject. But, I learned it myself, through self-studying, several youtube channels, different books from the library, etc.
When I became a teacher, I made a promise to myself, whatever I will teach, I will make it easy for the students. I realized that students need to be taught like a toddler is taught to eat, walk with support, etc. So far I am delivering 100% result from my economics students, just by thinking from the students’ points of view and not from the teacher’s point of view. I always assume that they do not know how to perform the task. I teach them, give several examples and after addressing all their doubts, I can get the desired result from them.
- Introductory Microeconomics, By Sandeep Garg – In this book, the author has kept the language; students friendly. Simple words, with a clear explanation which helps students to grab the concept easily. Examples are also nicely explained, that a student can relate to. Although I didn’t like the question exercise, it could be better in terms of difficulty level.
- Introductory Macroeconomics, By Sandeep Garg – Since the author is the same, my review stands the same here.
- Statistics for economics, By TR Jain and VK Ohri – The explanation part of this book is complicated and confusing, but the question bank is really good for practice. So, if you are good at statistics and just need to practice some numerical, go for this book.
- Exam Idea Economics for CBSE – This book is really good for exams practice. It provides a summary of important topics and lots of sample papers, past papers for practice. This book contains good practice questions for students appearing in CBSE, that is, the Central Board of Secondary Education. Do, get this book, but only for practice after you are done with your full curriculum preparation.
There are thousands of books available for economics, most of them I have not read or heard about. Feel free to go for your choice, if you know some. Otherwise, try any of the above.
I hope it was helpful. Feel free to join my Facebook group meant for economics students, and you can also subscribe to us.
Happy Learning!
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash