Now that the season is over (for most)...

[aslabchu]

Are you doing anything to prepare for the upcoming year? Any summer reading (and if so, what)?

[RCtheSS]

Man, I'm trying to finish A Dance with Dragons before the new season of Game of Thrones starts.

Basically, I don't want to start reading academic-related materials until I quit my job in July, since that keeps me plenty engaged as it is. I am looking into enrolling in a calculus MOOC soon since I haven't taken it since high school.

Edited April 4, 2016 by RCtheSS

[Danbrenn]

I'm finishing up the macro/micro online class offered by SAIS.  $1500 and pretty good for people who have no background.  I'm also reading Naked Economics and Naked Statistics, because I have no prior background in either subject.  Other than the above, all reading will be for pleasure.  

[aslabchu]

One of the profs at SPEA has this in his syllabus (it's for the core Econ course). Might be good summer reading. Check it out:

 

Enjoyable Materials*

The following are books that I have found to be very accessible reading and excellent at conveying

economic principles, even if it is just while you are relaxing at a bookstore:

• More Sex is Safer Sex: The Unconventional Wisdom of Economics by Steven Landsburg.
• The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies by Bryan Caplan.
• Economic Facts and Fallacies by Thomas Sowell.
• Capitalism and Freedom by Milton Friedman.
• Why Popcorn Costs So Much at the Movies & Other Pricing Puzzles by Richard McKenzie
• Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explains the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven Levitt and Steven Dubner
• The Invisible Heart: An Economic Romance by Russell Roberts
• The Price of Everything: A Parable of Possibility and Prosperity by Russell Roberts
• Pop Internationalism by Paul Krugman

 

 

Edited April 4, 2016 by aslabchu

[Mr. Government]

I'll have 15 credits under my belt when I transition to a full-time student at IU this fall since I took my core classes online via SPEA Connect, so I have some familiarity with what is expected of incoming students. It's definitely a good idea to brush up on the basics regarding micro, stats (particularly regression analysis), and econometrics before classes begin, especially for those of you gearing towards more quant-heavy programs. For those who do not have a background in these topics, some basic introductory economics books are a must for introducing yourself to the terminology and thought-processes behind the elementary concepts.

Outside of the quant stuff, some basics on Dillon's Rule vs. Home Rule, memo writing, federal policy formation, and cost-benefit analysis are some other things it would be beneficial to familiarize yourself with. If you have some time to kill over the summer, MIT offers full course lectures online. There's plenty of stuff there on micro, regression analysis, finance, etc.