<p>Snowdon and Vane "<a href="http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/1845422082" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Modern Macroeconomics: Its Origins, Development And Current State</a>" is probably the best book I have read which gives a clear exposition of all the major macroeoconomic schools from the classicals to the New Keynesians. It highlights what the different schools have contributed to modern macroeoconomics and compares them to the other schools. They even include interviews with economists such as Robert Lucas Jr. and Milton Friedman to mention a few. I guess this is exactly the book you are looking for and to be honest I think every single person studying economics should read this book. It is not an introductionary economics book but I think most people should be able to read and understand it.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-12-08T21:46:42.977Z
*"I think every single person studying economics should read this book"* Perhaps you mean every macroeconomist?
FooBar
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-12-08T21:21:04.133Z
2017-08-12T07:05:38.310Z
2017-08-12T07:05:38.310Z
Plissken
<p>I would suggest the 2016's handbook "<a href="http://www.e-elgar.com/shop/handbook-on-the-history-of-economic-analysis-volume-ii" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Handbook on the History of Economic Analysis, Volume II</a>". It provides a comprehensive analysis of all schools of thought, from the Greek philosophers until today. </p>

<p><a href="http://www.e-elgar.com/shop/handbook-on-the-history-of-economic-analysis-volume-iii" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Volume III</a> of the above handbook is also interesting, but it focuses on topics rather than schools of thought. For reference, <a href="http://www.e-elgar.com/shop/handbook-on-the-history-of-economic-analysis-volume-i" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Volume I</a> contains a comprehensive, chronological list of economists, from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Petty" rel="nofollow noreferrer">William Petty</a> to Paul Krugman.</p>

<hr>

<p>Focusing on less general topics and more mathematically involved, you can combine <a href="http://press.princeton.edu/titles/8764.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Acemoglu's book</a> on economic growth (a rather mainstream perspective) with the "<a href="http://www.e-elgar.com/shop/handbook-of-alternative-theories-of-economic-growth" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Handbook of Alternative Theories of Economic Growth</a>". </p>

<p>Also, Elgar put together a cool <a href="http://www.e-elgar.com/shop/capital-theory" rel="nofollow noreferrer">handbook</a> of the most important papers on Capital theory, covering a whole range of perspectives.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-08-12T07:22:50.290Z
2017-08-12T07:22:50.290Z
luchonacho
<p>Because this question will ultimately produce subjective answers, and given the wise advice (given in the above comments) to avoid learning economics by studying "schools of thought," I decided to answer by telling you what books were assigned in my introductory economics class as an undergraduate.</p>

<p>In my first undergraduate class, our textbook was <a href="http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0538453052" rel="nofollow">"Principles of Economics"</a> by Mankiw (which is actually very nice to read even though it's a textbook). Along with this textbook we were required to read these two more popularly oriented books: <a href="http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0393337642" rel="nofollow">"Naked Economics: Undressing the Dismal Science"</a> (which has some fun discussion of economic issues) and <a href="http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/1451651732" rel="nofollow">"The Armchair Economist: Economics and Everyday Life"</a> (which gives a great introduction to economics thinking).</p>

<p>These three books give a good beginner's overview of economics and economic thinking in general. I think this would be a nice way to start.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-08-23T12:43:00.063Z
I cannot but disagree with your last comment. There is very little ideological variety in the books you mention. That is a pretty common introduction to mainstream economics.
luchonacho
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-08-23T23:01:44.580Z
It was indeed my intention was to suggest introductions to mainstream economics.
jmbejara
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-08-24T06:25:57.620Z
That is fine. I'm not suggesting that mainstream textbooks are not valid, but the answer does not specifies this particularity, and the last sentence gives a misleading idea about this.
luchonacho
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-12-08T20:06:57.610Z
2014-12-08T20:06:57.610Z
jmbejara
<p>I'm looking for a good book that gives an (introductory) overview about the existing economic theories and the different schools of thought (optimally with focus to those that affect governments and institutions). Presentations that use  mathematical formalisms and that give a little bit of historical background to the respective theory are very welcome. I don't have any economic education, so I am hoping that there exist some "standard works" that compare the different theories and schools of thought.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-12-07T18:30:22.357Z
This is not an answer to your question, but I think this is a very bad way to go about learning economics.  Good economics does not deal in generalities about the role of government or other institutions; instead it carefully analyzes specific questions using a powerful set of tools.  Some people learn best by starting with a question and then picking up the tools as they need them; others learn best by learning a tool and then finding questions to apply it to.  But one way or another, you learn by working with the tools, not by talking about them.
Steven Landsburg
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-12-08T02:27:22.997Z
@StevenLandsburg you might be right about what constitutes good economics, but I disagree that it's somehow bad to learn about your tools before you start using them. Yes, hands-on experience always changes your perspective. But to stretch the tool analogy, imagine you are starting a home improvement project but you know nothing about hammers. You go to Home Depot and find there are 10 different kinds. Do you just grab one off the shelf and take it home, or do you ask the sales associate for an overview?
shadowtalker
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-12-08T09:27:42.113Z
I would forget about "schools of thought". These are much less important in modern economics than they were in the past. Much better would be to pick up a book like Tim Harford's "The Undercover Economist", which provides an introduction into economists' way of thinking in a very digestible format.
Ubiquitous
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-12-08T09:39:27.467Z
I believe [Palgrave's authoritative dictionary](http://www.dictionaryofeconomics.com/dictionary) may be the best option. It's huge, but you'll find what you're looking for.
Anton Tarasenko
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-12-09T16:43:42.653Z
Maybe I'm reading the question differently from the rest of you. The line "optimally with focus to those that affect governments and institutions" makes me think the poster is looking for something more specifically related to governments and institutions, on which topic specific theories *do* exist. It seems like a classic case of looking for something without knowing what it is you're actually looking for.
shadowtalker
<reference-request><self-study><schools-of-thought>
Overview book about economic theories
bkaplan
# Overview book about economic theories

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-12-07)

I'm looking for a good book that gives an (introductory) overview about the existing economic theories and the different schools of thought (optimally with focus to those that affect governments and institutions). Presentations that use mathematical formalisms and that give a little bit of historical background to the respective theory are very welcome. I don't have any economic education, so I am hoping that there exist some "standard works" that compare the different theories and schools of thought.

**Tags:** reference-request, self-study, schools-of-thought

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: This is not an answer to your question, but I think this is a very bad way to go about learning economics.  Good economics does not deal in generalities about the role of government or other institutions; instead it carefully analyzes specific questions using a powerful set of tools.  Some people learn best by starting with a question and then picking up the tools as they need them; others learn best by learning a tool and then finding questions to apply it to.  But one way or another, you learn by working with the tools, not by talking about them.  
> **username_2**: @StevenLandsburg you might be right about what constitutes good economics, but I disagree that it's somehow bad to learn about your tools before you start using them. Yes, hands-on experience always changes your perspective. But to stretch the tool analogy, imagine you are starting a home improvement project but you know nothing about hammers. You go to Home Depot and find there are 10 different kinds. Do you just grab one off the shelf and take it home, or do you ask the sales associate for an overview?  
> **username_3**: I would forget about "schools of thought". These are much less important in modern economics than they were in the past. Much better would be to pick up a book like Tim Harford's "The Undercover Economist", which provides an introduction into economists' way of thinking in a very digestible format.  
> **username_4**: I believe [Palgrave's authoritative dictionary](http://www.dictionaryofeconomics.com/dictionary) may be the best option. It's huge, but you'll find what you're looking for.  
> **username_2**: Maybe I'm reading the question differently from the rest of you. The line "optimally with focus to those that affect governments and institutions" makes me think the poster is looking for something more specifically related to governments and institutions, on which topic specific theories *do* exist. It seems like a classic case of looking for something without knowing what it is you're actually looking for.  

---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_5 on 2014-12-08. Score: 3

Snowdon and Vane "[Modern Macroeconomics: Its Origins, Development And Current State](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/1845422082)" is probably the best book I have read which gives a clear exposition of all the major macroeoconomic schools from the classicals to the New Keynesians. It highlights what the different schools have contributed to modern macroeoconomics and compares them to the other schools. They even include interviews with economists such as Robert Lucas Jr. and Milton Friedman to mention a few. I guess this is exactly the book you are looking for and to be honest I think every single person studying economics should read this book. It is not an introductionary economics book but I think most people should be able to read and understand it.

> **Comments:**
> **username_6**: *"I think every single person studying economics should read this book"* Perhaps you mean every macroeconomist?  

---

### Answer by username_7 on 2017-08-12. Score: 0

I would suggest the 2016's handbook "[Handbook on the History of Economic Analysis, Volume II](http://www.e-elgar.com/shop/handbook-on-the-history-of-economic-analysis-volume-ii)". It provides a comprehensive analysis of all schools of thought, from the Greek philosophers until today.

[Volume III](http://www.e-elgar.com/shop/handbook-on-the-history-of-economic-analysis-volume-iii) of the above handbook is also interesting, but it focuses on topics rather than schools of thought. For reference, [Volume I](http://www.e-elgar.com/shop/handbook-on-the-history-of-economic-analysis-volume-i) contains a comprehensive, chronological list of economists, from [William Petty](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Petty) to Paul Krugman.

---

Focusing on less general topics and more mathematically involved, you can combine [Acemoglu's book](http://press.princeton.edu/titles/8764.html) on economic growth (a rather mainstream perspective) with the "[Handbook of Alternative Theories of Economic Growth](http://www.e-elgar.com/shop/handbook-of-alternative-theories-of-economic-growth)".

Also, Elgar put together a cool [handbook](http://www.e-elgar.com/shop/capital-theory) of the most important papers on Capital theory, covering a whole range of perspectives.


---

### Answer by username_8 on 2014-12-08. Score: 0

Because this question will ultimately produce subjective answers, and given the wise advice (given in the above comments) to avoid learning economics by studying "schools of thought," I decided to answer by telling you what books were assigned in my introductory economics class as an undergraduate.

In my first undergraduate class, our textbook was ["Principles of Economics"](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0538453052) by Mankiw (which is actually very nice to read even though it's a textbook). Along with this textbook we were required to read these two more popularly oriented books: ["Naked Economics: Undressing the Dismal Science"](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0393337642) (which has some fun discussion of economic issues) and ["The Armchair Economist: Economics and Everyday Life"](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/1451651732) (which gives a great introduction to economics thinking).

These three books give a good beginner's overview of economics and economic thinking in general. I think this would be a nice way to start.

> **Comments:**
> **username_7**: I cannot but disagree with your last comment. There is very little ideological variety in the books you mention. That is a pretty common introduction to mainstream economics.  
> **username_8**: It was indeed my intention was to suggest introductions to mainstream economics.  
> **username_7**: That is fine. I'm not suggesting that mainstream textbooks are not valid, but the answer does not specifies this particularity, and the last sentence gives a misleading idea about this.  

---

