Customer Reviews

Advanced Microeconomic Theory

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

While the book is certainly aimed more at grad students, I've found it to be invaluable in my undergraduate studies. It delves deep into the analytical mathematics behind microeconomics, where Varian and Nicholson brush lightly across the surface.
Good for both undergraduates and graduates. Familiarity with the structure of analytic mathematical arguments required. Not for the economically or mathematically faint-of-heart.

Firstable, this is a Graduate Micro book, nobody could properly say that it is not good if she is trying to get some stuff of this topic for the first time, this is not the goal of this book, it was created to make first year econ-grad students lives better.
I used MWG (Mas Colell) for the first semester Micro of the Phd program and most of my partners and I hated it, it is so complicated and has some excessive and wording detail for even simple things, however I should recognize that it is more complete than the rest of books, now in the second Micro we're using Jehle and Reny and we love it, to be honest this is the best book in Micro now (according to my knowledge and point of view), we also use Silberberg sometimes (very good) and Varian (has a lot of gaps even though it is easy to understand too) but this is the best, it is not probably as complete as MWG but it is more neat, precise and far more understandable, general equilibrium part has one third of the pages of MWG but it is better, it doesn't have Offer curves neither other minor things but the proofs of existence of Walrasian equilibrium and the welfare theorems are incredibly powerful and far shorter than those of MWG. For Game Theory it is also very very good, clear and precise without excessive wording.
I almost forgot....the Math appendix is the best I've ever found in any other Micro book, it gives you precisely what you need to get into the business.
This book is like "pure gold" no regrets of any kind.
Aldo.

The assigned text in my graduate micro theory class was Mas-Collel/Whinston/Green (MWG), a book that I couldn't wait to get rid of. However, I have a much better appreciation of MWG after having read Jehle and Reny (JR). JR is strong where MWG is weak and vice versa. JR provides a clear, self-contained introduction to key concepts in advanced micromicroeconomic theory but is not comprehensive in its coverage. MWG on the other hand is more terse and requires a greater level of math preparation, but is truly the encyclopedia of micro. Regarding the comments of the disappointed reader from Cambridge MA, it's true that there are not many applications in J&R, but that's not really the point of this book. As the title indicates, this is a theory book. Nicolson's or even Varian's intermediate texts are good places to look for applications. But for grad micro theory, I would recommend reading both JR and MWG, in that order.

From now on this design should become a standard. For the first time the fundamental theorems and assumptions of todays micro are not only presented but also discussed with complete(!) proofs. Congratulations especially for your step-by-step exposition of the development of preferences along with their respective axioms. Now going into 2nd round. But when will there be a paperback version, that is more affordable?

As a PhD text, this is the best resource to "climb the mountains" of this topic. I have all the books. Varian, Nicholson / Snyder, MWG. I like them all. But as _learning material_ rather than as reference, this book strikes the best balance for me. Maybe if you are a genius, with the attention span of a 1,000 year old monk, MWG will be perfect for you. But this lesser-known book approaches topics in a wonderful, refreshing way. I also recommend Nicholson. But this book is a half step more advanced, while retaining the clarity and brevity. In the first 250 pages, this book does 90% of what MWG does in 750 pages. And often does it in a slicker, better way. No bad dreams. Try this book.

I am an economics PhD student and read this book (in its entirety) along with the assigned textbook (MWG). I really liked the book. It is very well written and explains concepts precisely and intuitively. The quality is also consistent throughout the book. The chapters are well-organized and compact (in a good way). The problems at the end of each chapter are also very useful, there is a good mixture of computational and more theoretical questions.

The level of the textbook is a bit less than what is needed for a PhD-level class. I feel that the authors might have as well gone all the way and made it fully PhD-compatible without much cost in terms of complexity. For example, using Kakutani's FPT instead of Brouwer's FPT doesn't really make things that much harder. Similarly, the textbook prefers using some kind of monotonicity for a lot of the proofs, where LNS would have been more standard. In addition, there is a bit too much calculus used for proofs which could easily have been done in greater generality. I feel that these mathematical simplifications sacrifice a fair amount of rigor for a negligible gain in accessibility.

That said, I still feel that the book deserves five stars because of the quality of the exposition. It is ideal for advanced undergraduate students and as a supplement (or preparatory self-study) for PhD students.

This is a book designed for PhD students other than Economics. For Economics, I think it is still difficult to replace Mas-Colell.

JR has a superb explanation on the basic axioms of consumption, much better that MWG. So, it should be used in that case instead. Also, the book has Auctions, which is a subject unseen in MWG.

Students that use Economics as a tool like those in Public Policy, International Relations, Law and the like, should find this book very readable with some effort in Math.

Students in Economics should use this book as a companion to MWG, since it makes many concept clearer. The Math level in JR is not very demanding for someone familiar with Calculus and Linear Algebra, but if you are not acquainted with, the Appendix is really another high point in the book.

MGW is much more formal and is designed for making research in the field, instead of making you used to the subject. That is certainly necessary for future economists, who usually know basic concepts in Micro. Those who don't will be well equipped by using JR.

This has been an excellent book as I have discovered in about a month of intensive use. I would like however to see greater support and interaction with other users on the Author's Plone. For example it would have been great to have PPT presentations of the chapters. It would also have been useful to have the author's solutions (not hints) for a few of the questions so that a beginnig user can gain confidence in his own solutions when compared to the authors'

By far my favorite micro textbook. It provides powerful intuitions without sacrificing the analytical details. Elegant and insightful exposition. Delightful mathematical appendix, though it cannot substitute a good math textbook -but better than bad texbooks. I acknowledge that any micro book must be compared to Mas Colell et al. Jehle and Reny is not as complete as Mas Colell, but it brings huge gains in clarity. Don't know why, I can spend hours studying and reproducing Mas Colell step by step but it flows on me like water. Finally, Jehle and Reny is quite more apt to keep up with the pace of a Master course. My review concerns the 2nd edition. I hope there'll be no attempts to "improve" this book with new editions. It is perfect as it is. A praise to the authors.

When you start grad school you might use the MWG micro economic theory text book. It is not the easiest book to read even though it provides a great reference. This book will be great for those who would like a slightly deeper and more intuitive approach.