Which CORE Econ ebook should I choose for my course or level?

Updated

Pick by course level and teaching goal: The Economy 2.0: Microeconomics and The Economy 2.0: Macroeconomics are the current free, open-access texts for introductory undergraduate micro and macro courses; Understanding our Economy is written for beginners and first-year students, including two-year and four-year colleges and universities in North America; The Economy 1.0 is the original free open-access text for a year-long introductory undergraduate course; Economy, Society, and Public Policy uses policy problems to motivate learning economic concepts and methods. If you teach in a specific language or region, CORE also publishes translated and adapted editions (for example, a South Asian perspective, French, Spanish, Italian, Finnish, German, Portuguese, and Slovak versions).

Start with the course you are teaching

If your situation is… Choose… Why
Introductory undergraduate microeconomics The Economy 2.0: Microeconomics Described as the free, open-access text for introductory microeconomics undergraduate courses
Introductory undergraduate macroeconomics The Economy 2.0: Macroeconomics Described as the free, open-access text for introductory macroeconomics undergraduate courses
Beginners, first-year students, or North American two-year/four-year colleges Understanding our Economy Free textbook for beginner and first-year economics students and students at two-year and four-year colleges and universities in North America
A year-long introductory undergraduate course, using the original text The Economy 1.0 The original free, open-access text for a year-long introductory undergraduate course
A course you want to motivate through policy problems Economy, Society, and Public Policy Uses policy problems to motivate learning the concepts and methods of economics
A South Asian or developing-economy context The Economy: A South Asian Perspective An adaptation of The Economy with topics and features specific to South Asian and developing economies
Teaching in French, Spanish, Italian, Finnish, German, Portuguese, or Slovak The corresponding translated edition CORE lists L’Économie, L’Économie pour le Lycée, La economía 2.0: Microeconomía, La Economía, L’economia, Talous, Die Wirtschaft, A Economia, and Ekonomika, spoločnosť a verejná politika

How the main English options differ

The Economy 2.0 (Microeconomics and Macroeconomics)

This is the split into two semester-friendly books. Use the micro volume for an introductory micro course and the macro volume for an introductory macro course. Both are described as free and open access.

Understanding our Economy

Aim here if your students are beginners or first-years, or if you teach at a two-year or four-year college or university in North America. It is positioned as a free textbook for that audience rather than as the standard undergraduate sequence.

The Economy 1.0

Choose this if you want the original free, open-access text designed for a year-long introductory undergraduate course. It suits a full-year sequence rather than a single-semester micro or macro course.

Economy, Society, and Public Policy

This is the option when your teaching approach starts from policy problems and uses them to motivate the concepts and methods of economics. It is a different entry point from the standard micro/macro split.

Language and regional editions

CORE publishes more than the English core texts. If your course is taught in another language or needs regional examples, check whether one of these matches:

  • French: L’Économie (open access, for students of an introduction to economics) and L’Économie pour le Lycée (three interactive, open-access texts for French high school students)
  • Spanish: La economía 2.0: Microeconomía (free, open access for introductory undergraduate microeconomics) and La Economía (free, open access for introductory undergraduate courses)
  • Italian: L’economia (a free, open-access book for introductory undergraduate courses)
  • Finnish: Talous (a free, open-access work for bachelor-level introductory economics courses)
  • German: Die Wirtschaft (an openly accessible textbook for foundation courses)
  • Portuguese: A Economia (a free, open-access text for introductory undergraduate courses)
  • Slovak: Ekonomika, spoločnosť a verejná politika (uses policy problems to motivate teaching of economic concepts and methods)
  • South Asia: The Economy: A South Asian Perspective (an adaptation with topics and features specific to South Asian and developing economies)

Supplementary resources, not replacements

CORE also lists resources that complement the ebooks rather than replace them:

  • Experiencing Economics — classroom experiments and games to learn economics
  • Doing Economics — work through policy problems using real data
  • CORE Insights — a free, self-contained educational resource to supplement CORE Econ’s ebooks
  • S. Bowles and W. Chen, “Allocation, Distribution & Policy: Notes, Problems, and Solutions in Microeconomics” — a problem-based, policy-engaged way to learn microeconomic theory

Use these alongside your chosen text, not as the main textbook.

Practical check before you commit

  1. Confirm the course length: a year-long course points to The Economy 1.0; a single-semester micro or macro course points to the matching Economy 2.0 volume.
  2. Confirm the student level: beginners and first-years, especially in North America, match Understanding our Economy.
  3. Confirm the teaching approach: if you want policy problems to drive the course, look at Economy, Society, and Public Policy.
  4. Confirm the language and region: if you teach outside English or outside the default context, check the translated or adapted edition list above.
  5. Register on CORE Econ if you need additional instructor and learner resources; the site notes that registration is how you access those extras.