SU Library: OER by Discipline: Economics: Find OER in My Discipline

Maryland Open Source Textbook Initiative

The Maryland Open Source Textbook (M.O.S.T.) Initiative is a huge source of support for open educational resources, open access, and open pedagogy in Maryland. Find OER through the M.O.S.T. Commons or Stevenson's M.O.S.T. Commons Hub.

Quick Search

Three states -- Maryland, California, and Georgia -- maintain large statewide OER databases. Try these quick searches that are already set for your discipline:

Textbooks and Books

These sites offer multiple books:

Here are some individual books on the topic of economics:

Principles of Economics This book is intended for a two-semester course in Economics taught out of the social sciences or business school. Principles of Economics aims to teach considerable range and depth of Economic concepts through an approachable style and methodology. The authors take a three-pronged approach to every chapter: The concept is covered with a “Heads Up” to ward off confusion, a real-world application for that concept, and a “You Try It” section to make sure students are staying on top of the concept.
Principles of Microenomics Principles of Microeconomics is an adaptation of the textbook, Microeconomics: Markets, Methods, and Models by D. Curtis and I. Irvine, which provides concise yet complete coverage of introductory microeconomic theory, application and policy in a Canadian and global environment. This adaptation employs methods that use equations sparingly and do not utilize calculus. The key issues in most chapters are analyzed by introducing a numerical example or case study at the outset. Students are introduced immediately to the practice of taking a data set, examining it numerically, plotting it, and again analyzing the material in that form. The end-of-chapter problems involve numerical and graphical analysis, and a small number of problems in each chapter involve solving simple linear equations (intersecting straight lines). However, a sufficient number of questions is provided for the student to test understanding of the material without working through that subset of questions. This textbook is intended for a one-semester course, and can be used in a two-semester sequence with the companion textbook, Principles of Macroeconomics. The three introductory chapters are common to both textbooks.
Principles of Political Economy - Third Edition This textbook is unique among economics textbooks. It contains many of the same topics as mainstream textbooks, but it includes and takes very seriously heterodox critiques and alternatives to the mainstream approach to economics. It includes a whole range of alternative theories, including Post-Keynesian, Austrian, Marxian, radical, feminist, institutionalist, and other approaches. The purpose is to teach students about alternative schools of economic thought but also to deepen their understanding of the dominant, neoclassical approach to economics. In this sense, it draws a great deal of inspiration from Richard Wolff and Stephen Resnick’s Contending Economic Theories. Following Wolff and Resnick, an even broader objective is to teach students that economics is a discourse and that no single voice can rightfully claim to have a monopoly on the truth about economics.
Microeconomics: Theory Through Applications This textbook, Microeconomics: Theory Through Applications, centers around student needs and expectations through two premises: … Students are motivated to study economics if they see that it relates to their own lives. … Students learn best from an inductive approach, in which they are first confronted with a problem, and then led through the process of solving that problem. Many books claim to present economics in a way that is digestible for students; Russell and Andrew have truly created one from scratch. This textbook will assist you in increasing students' economic literacy both by developing their aptitude for economic thinking and by presenting key insights about economics that every educated individual should know.
The Economy 2.0: Economics for a changing world An open-access textbook for any first course in economics, whether principles, micro, or macro. Student-centred and motivated by real-world problems and real-world data.
Models in Microeconomic Theory ('She' Edition) Models in Microeconomic Theory covers basic models in current microeconomic theory. Part I (Chapters 1-7) presents models of an economic agent, discussing abstract models of preferences, choice, and decision making under uncertainty, before turning to models of the consumer, the producer, and monopoly. Part II (Chapters 8-14) introduces the concept of equilibrium, beginning, unconventionally, with the models of the jungle and an economy with indivisible goods, and continuing with models of an exchange economy, equilibrium with rational expectations, and an economy with asymmetric information. Part III (Chapters 15-16) provides an introduction to game theory, covering strategic and extensive games and the concepts of Nash equilibrium and subgame perfect equilibrium. Part IV (Chapters 17-20) gives a taste of the topics of mechanism design, matching, the axiomatic analysis of economic systems, and social choice.
Intermediate Microeconomics with Excel This book is based on the idea that there is a particular framework used by economists to interpret observed reality. This framework has been called the economic way of thinking, the economic approach, and the method of economics. This book is different from the many other books that attempt to teach microeconomics in three ways: • It explicitly applies the recipe of the economic approach in every example. • It uses concrete examples via Microsoft Excel in every application, which enables the reader to manipulate live graphs and learn numerical methods of optimization. • The majority of the content is in the Excel workbooks which the reader uses to create meaning. You learn by doing, not by reading.
Principles of Macroeconomic Literacy Principles of Macroeconomic Literacy emphasizes basic economic concepts such as value and cost in developing macroeconomic ideas. Besides the economics of Adam Smith, Freidrich Hayek, and Milton Friedman, the text applies the work of James Buchanan in discussing how ideal policies will never be ideally applied by self-interested politicians with limited knowledge. The text integrates Frederic Bastiat’s (1950) essay, That Which is Seen and That Which is Not Seen, in discussing issues such as technology, trade, government guaranteed loans, and Keynesian fiscal policy. Students learn concepts involving credit markets, economic planning, and money through short fictional stories in which characters interact in an attempt to make themselves better off. Where many texts put the student in the position of an imagined macroeconomic policy dictator, Principles of Macroeconomic Literacy attempts to make macroeconomics comprehensible to students who live everyday.
International Finance: Theory and Policy International Finance Theory and Policy is built on Steve Suranovic's belief that to understand the international economy, students need to learn how economic models are applied to real world problems. It is true what they say, that ”economists do it with models.“ That's because economic models provide insights about the world that are simply not obtainable solely by discussion of the issues. International Finance Theory and Policy develops a unified model of the international macroeconomy. The text provides detailed descriptions of major macroeconomic variables, covers the interest rate parity and purchasing power parity theories of exchange rate determination, takes an exhaustive look at the pros and cons of trade imbalances and presents the well-known AA-DD model to explore the effects of fiscal and monetary policy under both fixed and flexible exchange rates.

Full Courses

Saylor Academy Five courses from Saylor Academy
Financial Theory This course attempts to explain the role and the importance of the financial system in the global economy. Rather than separating off the financial world from the rest of the economy, financial equilibrium is studied as an extension of economic equilibrium. The course also gives a picture of the kind of thinking and analysis done by hedge funds.
Financial Markets An overview of the ideas, methods, and institutions that permit human society to manage risks and foster enterprise. Description of practices today and analysis of prospects for the future. Introduction to risk management and behavioral finance principles to understand the functioning of securities, insurance, and banking industries.
Introduction to Macroeconomics This course introduces the determination of levels of national income, employment and prices, and the basic causes of fluctuations in the business cycle, the banking system, monetary policy and financial intermediation. Other topics may include international trade and international finance. Course Outcomes: Discuss the role scarcity plays in defining economic choices and how individuals, companies and nations resolve these issues. Describe and use economic data to evaluate the three basic macroeconomic problems: recession, unemployment, and inflation. Discuss and apply the concepts of economic growth and business cycles to the macro economy. Demonstrate how Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Real GDP are calculated and explain the uses and limits of both. Discuss and apply the aggregate-demand and aggregate-supply model to analyze short run and long run national economic conditions and the effectiveness of macroeconomic policy. Apply the concepts of comparative and absolute advantage to explain the benefits of trade.
Introduction to Microeconomics This course introduces the theory of relative prices in a market system, consumer choice, marginal analysis, and the allocation of productive resources among alternative uses in a market economy. Other topics may include market power and price discrimination, public finance, the labor market and environmental policy. COURSE OUTCOMES: Discuss the role scarcity plays in defining economic choices and how individuals, companies and nations resolve these issues. Describe and apply marginal principle, principle of opportunity cost, principle of diminishing returns, comparative advantage, and elasticity. Analyze the relationships between production costs and cost curves. Explain the mechanics of supply and demand and apply the supply and demand model to evaluate markets. Discuss the efficiency and equity of both competitive and noncompetitive markets and how both are impacted by government intervention. Explain, compare and contrast, and apply in context each of the basic market structures - i.e. perfect competition, monopoly, oligopoly and monopolistic competition.
ASCCC OERI Economics Resources OER Supplementary Modules to Principles of Economics Courses The following seven modules are user-ready supplements to the Principles of Economics courses. They are linked to the Openstax textbooks but may be added to any course using Canvas. Each module is divided into separate lessons, each available to download individually into a course.