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Global Markets, Trade & Financial Strategy

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Global Business & Economics Reading List

A curated path through economics, trade, investing, strategy, marketing, decision-making, and technology.

Type
Reading list
Difficulty
All levels
Length
Curated list

Start wherever your comfort is. Each recommendation is a real, well-known book; begin with 'Start here' before climbing into the harder shelves. Difficulty is a rough guide, and none of these is investment advice.

START HERE

Accessible introductions. No background required.

  • The Undercover Economist

    BEGINNER

    Tim Harford

    A friendly tour of everyday economics, from coffee prices to globalisation. A painless way to start thinking like an economist.

  • Poor Economics

    BEGINNER

    Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo

    Nobel-winning, evidence-based writing on how economies actually work for people, and how easily intuition misleads. Grounded and humane.

  • The Art of Thinking Clearly

    BEGINNER

    Rolf Dobelli

    Short chapters on common thinking errors, including overconfidence and confirmation bias. Directly useful for the forecasting resource.

GO DEEPER

International trade, investing, marketing, and strategy.

  • A Random Walk Down Wall Street

    INTERMEDIATE

    Burton Malkiel

    The classic case for why markets are hard to predict and why low-cost, diversified investing makes sense. Pairs with Investing 101.

  • Globalization and Its Discontents

    INTERMEDIATE

    Joseph Stiglitz

    A Nobel laureate's critical look at how globalisation has actually played out. A useful counterweight to 'trade is always good.'

  • No Logo

    INTERMEDIATE

    Naomi Klein

    An influential, critical study of global brands and marketing. A sharp lens for the questions raised in the marketing resource.

CHALLENGE YOURSELF

Foundational and advanced works on economics and technology.

  • The Wealth of Nations

    ADVANCED

    Adam Smith

    The founding text on specialisation, markets, and the division of labour. Demanding and old, but the roots of much of this material.

  • Capital in the Twenty-First Century

    ADVANCED

    Thomas Piketty

    A data-rich, much-debated study of wealth, inequality, and the long-run global economy. Serious and substantial.

  • The Second Machine Age

    ADVANCED

    Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee

    A thoughtful look at how digital technology is reshaping economies and work. Useful for the technology-and-trade questions.

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