The 10 Best Macroeconomics Textbooks
This wiki has been updated 17 times since it was first published in July of 2018. Macroeconomics is a complex field that analyzes the workings of a regional, national, or global economy as a whole. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, studying for a career that requires an understanding of the discipline or simply want to know more about things like inflation, financial trends, and unemployment, then one of these textbooks will help get you up to speed. When users buy our independently chosen editorial picks, we may earn commissions to help fund the Wiki. If you'd like to contribute your own research to the Wiki, please get started by reviewing this introductory video.
1. Macroeconomics, 10th Edition
2. A Concise Guide to Macroeconomics
3. Macroeconomics, 1st Edition
Editor's Notes
April 03, 2020:
Macroeconomics is not just for economists and policymakers — it affects everyone from everyday citizens to investors, executives, and entrepreneurs. We wanted this list to feature titles for students just breaking into the discipline, laypeople, managers, and advanced readers looking for new perspectives. Look to Principles of Macroeconomics and OpenStax Principles of Macroeconomics for introductory information, Recursive Macroeconomic Theory and Advanced Macroeconomics for more rigor, and A Concise Guide to Macroeconomics if you're a professional wanting to expand your knowledge. And for anyone interested in exploring different perspectives and burgeoning research, check out this list of resources that help flesh out theories and explain concepts in a digestible way.
Today we said goodbye to Big Ideas: A Nontechnical View and Lectures on Macroeconomics. The former is a stripped-down volume that's helpful for the layperson but tends to drag on and doesn't adequately explain concepts that require math. We felt that the intended audience would make better sense of OpenStax Principles of Macroeconomics, which also happens to be priced very affordably for a textbook and is full of engaging examples and handy QR codes for further reading.
We also added Macroeconomics, 1st Edition, a brand new core textbook that takes a different approach than many others, espousing a novel heterodox model based on modern monetary theory and offering well-reasoned practical and philosophical arguments for it. It also takes a hard look at avoidable mistakes that wealthy capitalist countries have made over the last few decades. Even if you're not necessarily in agreement with the authors' ideas, this volume should be of interest to any economist searching for a fresh approach to think outside the box.
Special Honors
The International Monetary Fund Created in 1945, The International Monetary Fund, or IMF, is an organization of 189 countries that works to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, and facilitate international trade and sustainable economic growth, among other goals. Their website is a rich resource for those interested in macroeconomics, offering general analysis courses, relevant book lists and reviews, research papers, and news. imf.org
4. Modern Macroeconomics
5. OpenStax Principles of Macroeconomics
6. Macroeconomics: Principles & Policy
7. Recursive Macroeconomic Theory
8. Advanced Macroeconomics
9. Principles of Macroeconomics
10. International Macroeconomics
Born in Arizona, Gia is a writer and autodidact who fled the heat of the desert for California, where she enjoys drinking beer, overanalyzing the minutiae of life, and channeling Rick Steves. After arriving in Los Angeles a decade ago, she quickly nabbed a copywriting job at a major clothing company and derived years of editing and proofreading experience from her tenure there, all while sharpening her skills further with myriad freelance projects. In her spare time, she teaches herself French and Italian, has earned an ESL teaching certificate, traveled extensively throughout Europe and the United States, and unashamedly devours television shows and books. The result of these pursuits is expertise in fashion, travel, beauty, literature, textbooks, and pop culture, in addition to whatever obsession consumes her next.