economics for teenagers

[onegiantleap]

Hi
My son (15) has asked for an introduction to economics book, he is planning to take economics at A level next year. Can anyone recommend something that will engage him without being too heavy going, I dont want to get a text book as he doesn't want to start a syllabus early.

I'm posting this on children's books topic as well,

Many thanks

Freakonomics or Superfreakonomics by Levitt and Dubner
The Undercover Economist or Dear Undercover Economist by Tim Harford

DS1 read a couple of these in the summer before starting AS economics this term. They were recommended by the school's economics department and the writers are academic economists, but the books are fairly easy to read.

I don't know of any suitable books but just wanted to say that out of the three A levels I did: Maths, Physics and Economics, that it was without a doubt the most useful.

Much of the lessons I learned has made me realise how the economy actually works as opposed to how the politicians and the great unwashed "think" it works.

Hope your son finds it as useful.

GCSE Business Studies Guide, sorry don't have the details to hand but in the series of GCSE revision guides usually found in all good book stores.

I second ToBeFair's suggestions. Tim Harford also has a column in the Saturday (Weekend) FT which your son could read, and did a BBC 2 series he could watch, both called The Undercover Economist.

Lipsey and Crystal's book was what I used when I studies Economics at school and Uni

I know you said you didn't want a textbook but freakonomics etc have nothing to do with an actual economics course. If he's jumping straight in at A level he real;y should try to get a grasp of some of the basics first eg the demand and supply curves, elasticity, opportunity cost, balance of payments, marcro v micro, fiscal v monetary, marginal cost, economies of scale, diminishing returns, free v planned markets, types of firms, inflation, unemployment etc.

Watching the news esp programmes like newsnight and reading good broadshhets should also help.

Thank you everyone !
sorry to be so late coming back.
Eventually found "50 Economics ideas you really need to know" By Edmund Conway, econ. editor of telegraph. Really accessible series by Quercus.

ds seems pleased