It depends what level you wish to study economics at.

Sloman Economics is very good. It is aimed at A Level students and first year at university. It goes into quite a lot of theory, yet, you can leave some of this theory out to understand the main principles.

If you are wanting a cheap and easier introduction to economics, you might like to consider this GCSE economics book. Don’t be put off by  the GCSE title. It provides a good overview of the main issues in economic syllabus. It would be helpful for AS and even A2 students in understanding certain issues before going into more detail.

So Sloman economics is very comprehensive and provides an extensive range of economic theory. GCSE economics is simpler for the basic theories. These are two I have chosen but there are many over good choices as well.

• Other Recommended textbooks

Interestingly, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben S. Bernanke has previously studied the Great Depression in great detail. These are some essays on the Great Depression – hopefully, he is using his knowledge to steer the US economy away from a similar repetition.

• Essays on the Great Depression by Ben S. Bernanke at Amazon.co.uk
• Essays on the Great Depression by Ben S. Bernanke at Amazon.com
• Causes of Great Depression

• Rogue Economics at Amazon.com
• Rogue Economics at Amazon.co.uk

I became interested in Rogue Economics by Loretta Napoleoni when researching an article on obesity. She covered the issue in just a couple of pages but it provided some key statistics and interesting ideas on the causes of obesity.

Other Recent Essays

The Real Economic Crisis – Food. How a global shortage of food and market failure in agriculture is threatening global food supplies and the health of upto 800 million people struggling to buy enough food.

The Problem with the Euro. Reasons why the UK should never join the Euro

Can We Trust Economic Statistics?

Surviving a Housing Crash

Housing Market in the UK - why we are susceptible to boom and busts

AS Level Textbooks. There are no economic textbooks which really stand out for AS level.

You can check out the AS Economics textbooks at Amazon here All those listed I have looked at; they are not perfect, but are fine.

Some AS students don’t buy an AS textbook but just buy an A Level book which is sufficient for both years.

A Level Textbooks. My favourite A level Textbook is the edition by John Sloman. But other recommended textbooks you can see here.

I have used many different economics textbooks, but my preferred textbook has always been Economic by J.Sloman

The benefits of Sloman for A Level Economics are:

• Comprehensive coverage of material. Good for the student who wants a little more detail.
• Broken down into manageable sections. I think this is the most important criteria, unless the text is broken down into useful sections, I find students won’t read it.
• Key terms explained in glossary.
• Good use of Real Life examples to make Economics Relevant. This is important for an applied subject and helps to make the material more interesting.

The only drawback of Sloman are

• It is quite expensive at £42.99
• Some sections are not required for A Level economics, it is important you don’t start worrying about the Keynesian consumption function. However, on the other hand, it is an excellent book to help first year Economics.

Economics by Sloman at Amazon.co.uk Buy Now!

Economics by Sloman at Amazon.com Buy Now!

Oxford Dictionary of Economics

“A Dictionary of Economics” (Oxford Univ. Press) at Amazon.co.uk

“A Dictionary of Economics (Oxford Univ. Press) at Amazon.com

Covers over 2,500 economic terms, in fairly simple language. Broad ranging.

Penguin Dictionary of Economics

Penguin Dictionary of Economics at Amazon.co.uk

Penguin Dictionary of Economics at Amazon.com

• General Economic terms
• Economic theory
• Applied economics and institutions illustrated with facts and statistics
• History of economics
• Entries on individual economists

Online Economics Dictionaries

The Economist offer a useful A-Z listing of various Economics terms. Fairly simple and jargon free. Useful for guide to many financial based economic concepts

Edexcel Produce small, but useful guides. However, they are not comprehensive.

AS Economics by Grant is a good starting point for an AS student

If you study OCR this is the recommended book.

My students find this book of economics diagrams particularly useful

• View: Selection of AS Economics Textbooks and Revision Guides