Best Development & Growth Economics Books of 2025

The End of the World Is Just the Beginning by Peter Zeihan is a New York Times Bestseller that maps out the collapse of globalization and the next world. Zeihan suggests that countries or regions will have no choice but to make their own goods, grow their own food, secure their own energy, fight their own battles, and do it all with populations that are both shrinking and aging. This book is an illuminating and a bit terrifying ride, packed with foresight, wit, and Zeihan's trademark irreverence. It is a must-read for anyone interested in the future of our interconnected world.

The Blue Ocean Strategy, Expanded Edition is a global phenomenon that has sold over 4 million copies and is recognized as one of the most iconic and impactful strategy books ever written. The authors, W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne, challenge traditional thinking about strategy and argue that lasting success comes not from battling competitors but from creating "blue oceans" - untapped new market spaces ripe for growth. This expanded edition includes updated content, new chapters, and tools any organization can use to create and capture their own blue oceans. Overall, this book is a must-read for anyone seeking to create uncontested market space and make the competition irrelevant.

Beyond Disruption: Innovate and Achieve Growth without Displacing Industries, Companies, or Jobs by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne offers a new approach to innovation and growth that goes beyond disruption, which is often destructive. The authors introduce the concept of nondisruptive creation, which allows companies to grow while being a force for good. The book provides a practical guide for driving innovation and growth and is a must-read for the next generation of innovators in all sectors of the economy.

Discrimination and Disparities by Thomas Sowell examines the origins of economic disparities and challenges the idea that different economic outcomes can be explained by any one factor, be it discrimination, exploitation, or genetics. The book analyzes the human consequences of prevailing social visions of these disparities and the policies based on that vision. The author presents a well-researched and thought-provoking argument that is both accessible and relevant. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the complex issues surrounding economic disparities.

PowerNomics: The National Plan to Empower Black America by Dr. Anderson is a book that proposes new principles, strategies, and concepts to make Black America self-sufficient and prosperous by the year 2005. The author debunks the myths and illusions of black progress and provides insightful analysis and action steps to redesign core areas of life like education, economics, politics, and religion. The book emphasizes the importance of building industries in black communities based on group competitive advantages and presents models of the proposed strategies. PowerNomics: The National Plan is a unique and thought-provoking book that challenges the conventional thinking about race matters and offers a new perspective.

Adrift: America in 100 Charts offers a unique and urgent examination of the future of the United States. Author Scott Galloway uses 100 charts to tell the story of America from 1945 to the present day, explaining how crises such as Jim Crow, World War II, and the Stock Market Crash of 2008, along with the escalating power of technology, an entrenched white patriarchy, and the socio-economic effects of the pandemic, have brought the nation to its current state. Galloway offers his take on where America is headed and what it will take to keep up with the fast and violent changes of the new world. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the future of the country.

Why Nations Fail by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson is a well-researched book that answers the age-old question of why some nations are rich while others are poor. The authors argue that economic success is determined by man-made political and economic institutions, not by culture, geography, or weather. They draw on historical evidence from various nations, including the Roman Empire, the Mayan city-states, and modern-day China, to build a new theory of political economy. Overall, this book is an eye-opener that challenges conventional wisdom and provides a fresh perspective on the factors that determine a nation's prosperity.

A Monetary and Fiscal History of the United States, 1961–2021 is a comprehensive and insightful book by Alan Blinder that covers 60 years of US economic policy from Kennedy to Biden. Blinder, an influential economist, provides an insider’s account of macroeconomic policy, tracing the highs and lows of monetary and fiscal policy through many recessions and several long booms over the past six decades. The book is well-written, engaging, and filled with important lessons for anyone interested in understanding where the economy has been and where it might be headed. Overall, this book is a must-read for anyone interested in development and growth economics.

Ask Powerful Questions: Create Conversations That Matter by Will Wise and Chad Littlefield is a best-selling book that provides a set of practice tools for understanding others by changing the way we ask questions. The book shows how to transform meaningless small talk into conversations that change not only how you lead but who you are as a person. The Asking Powerful Questions Pyramid™ breaks down the art of asking into six simple steps for everyone to understand. It's a must-read for educators, business professionals, personal coaches, and anyone in a position of leadership who wants to build a culture of connection.

The "Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent" by Eduardo Galeano is a classic in the field of historical scholarship of Latin America. The author traces five centuries of exploitation in the continent and organizes various facets of Latin American history according to the patterns of five centuries of exploitation. The book is an outstanding political economy, a social and cultural narrative of the highest quality, and perhaps the finest description of primitive capital accumulation since Marx. Overall, the book is a singular analytical achievement, and an overwhelming narrative that makes history speak, unforgettably.