Brief Principles of Macroeconomics [Paperback]

N. Gregory Mankiw (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0324236972 | ISBN-13: 978-0324236972 | Publication Date: February 17, 2006 | Edition: 004

Mankiw's Principles of Economics textbooks continue to be the most popular and widely used text in the economics classroom. BRIEF PRINCIPLES OF MACROECONOMICS, 4th Edition features a strong revision of content in all 18 chapters while maintaining the clear and accessible writing style that is the hallmark of the highly respected author. The 4th edition also features an expanded instructor's resource package designed to assist instructors in course planning and classroom presentation and full integration of content with Aplia, the leading online Economics education program. In the 4th edition Greg Mankiw has created a full educational program for students and instructors -- Experience Mankiw 4th edition. "I have tried to put myself in the position of someone seeing economics for the first time. My goal is to emphasize the material that students should and do find interesting about the study of the economy." - N. Gregory Mankiw.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The book's strengths include its ability to explain in plain language the beauty of economic theory; the concise manner in which real world examples are integrated into the text; and, the online assistance that does an effective job in complementing the text."

"I think that the greatest strengths are that it is clear (written in a student-friendly language), relatively concise, and provides a good coverage of what I think students need to know about principles of economics. I think that the style of the text is personable and is easy for students to read without being condescending. In terms of the coverage, as I noted above, we cover the entire text in my one-semester class, and cover just about exactly the entire text - no more, and only a little (two chapters) less."

"I find navigation process very simple. I am very impressed with Meet your tutor - Master the Learning Objectives section (that is so well planned out and organized). If students are having problems with any of the material and they're serious about being successful in this class, it is impossible for them not to understand the material after doing suggested activities in this section. "Ask the Author" video clips are interesting and clever. "Economic Applications" section also has good navigation system and can be useful for teachers and students both."

About the Author

N. Gregory Mankiw is Professor of Economics at Harvard University. He has taught macroeconomics, microeconomics, statistics, and principles of economics. Professor Mankiw is a prolific writer and a regular participant in academic and policy debates. His research includes work on price adjustment, consumer behavior, financial markets, monetary and fiscal policy, and economic growth. His published articles have appeared in academic journals such as the AMERICAN ECONOMIC REVIEW, JOURNAL OF POLITICAL ECONOMY, and QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS and in more widely accessible forums including THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE WASHINGTON POST, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, and FORTUNE. In addition to his teaching, research, and writing, Professor Mankiw has been a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, an adviser to the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and the Congressional Budget Office, and a member of the ETS test development committee for the advanced placement exam in economics. From 2003 to 2005, he served as Chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisers. In addition, he maintains a very popular blog for students of economics at www.gregmankiw.blogspot.com. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 504 pages
• Publisher: South-Western College Pub; 004 edition (February 17, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0324236972
• ISBN-13: 978-0324236972
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 8.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #273,066 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

N. Gregory Mankiw is Professor of Economics at Harvard University. As a student, he studied economics at Princeton University and MIT. As a teacher, he has taught macroeconomics, microeconomics, statistics, and principles of economics. He even spent one summer long ago as a sailing instructor on Long Beach Island.

Professor Mankiw is a prolific writer and a regular participant in academic and policy debates. His research includes work on price adjustment, consumer behavior, financial markets, monetary and fiscal policy, and economic growth. His published articles have appeared in academic journals, such as the "American Economic Review", "Journal of Political Economy", and "Quarterly Journal of Economics", and in more widely accessible forums, such as "The New York Times", "The Washington Post", "The Wall Street Journal", and "Fortune".

He has written two popular textbooks--the intermediate-level textbook Macroeconomics (Worth Publishers) and the introductory textbook Principles of Economics (South-Western/Thomson). Principles of Economics has sold over a million copies and has been translated into twenty languages.

In addition to his teaching, research, and writing, Professor Mankiw has been a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, an adviser to the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and the Congressional Budget Office, and a member of the ETS test development committee for the advanced placement exam in economics. From 2003 to 2005 he served as Chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisers.

To view his blog: http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Some good, some poor, June 23, 2002

By 

Scott A. Kjar (Duluth MN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Principles of Macroeonomics, Brief (Paperback)

Mankiw's book has a good organization -- for what it has. He spends a lot of time laying out some key fundamental topics, such as unemployment, GDP, CPI, DJIA, and so forth.

However, his book is entirely mum on the fact that there are different schools of thought, e.g., Keynesians, Classicals, Monetarists, Austrians, etc. A reader comes away thinking that all economists agree with Mankiw, and that simply is not true. Many other principles-level economics books have specific chapters devoted to these schools of thought.

In my Macro classes, I put Mankiw on "reserve" in the library and suggest that students read the 5 chapters dealing with "The Data of Macroeconomics" and "The Real Economy in the Long Run." However, I use other text books for the rest of the course, since they explain why economists disagree, give better information about actual public policy issues, and help a student understand, e.g., what the federal reserve is doing, or why some politicians like deficit spending and others dislike it, or whether the trade deficit is important or not.

For a reader who merely wants to understand the core issues mentioned above, Mankiw is a good book which I highly recommend. For a reader who wants to understand the nature of the public policy debates over these core issues, Mankiw is a horrible book which I suggest that you avoid like the plague.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Does a good job for its objective, July 12, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Brief Principles of Macroeconomics (Paperback)

The book attempts to teach a reasonable mainstream core of macroeconomics and its basic models. The writing style is very good. For those who are looking for a broad discussion of policy issues, this may not be the book for them. However, the book is intended for first year college economics students and the need for them to understand a few consensus macroeconomic concepts and models so that they can apply those models and concepts to policy issues after they leave the course. A good example of putting the cart before the horse is the comment by a reviewer who thought the book had a liberal bent. Of course, we all now know that N. Gregory Mankiw is the head of President Bush's Council of Economic Advisers (not exactly a recommendation for becoming a card carrying liberal). And that's the danger of reviewing introductory economics textbooks on the basis of an illusory political intent. The books most often ought to be rated on their objective--presenting a few models and techiniques to the student who will most often not take another formal economics course. Don't dismiss the book because it isn't steeped in political pronouncements. Check it out for technical useability and its writing clarity. You might like it.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Solid introductory text for students and general readers, August 22, 2004

By 

Craig Matteson (Saline, MI) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Brief Principles of Macroeconomics (Paperback)

This very readable book is a subset of the chapters included in Prof. Mankiw's "Principles of Economics". That book has thirty-six chapters in thirteen parts. This has eighteen chapters in eight parts. Parts one and two are common to both editions. This one excludes the discussion of microeconomics in parts three through seven, but has the rest of the chapters in parts eight through fifteen.

It is much more manageable for a one term introductory course in macroeconomics. However, do not confuse this introductory text with the more mathematically rigorous book Macroeconomics that is also authored by Mankiw. However, if you want to be an econometrician, neither text is probably enough to get you where you need to be to launch into those studies.

This book has a lot of strengths for those who want to develop some intuitions about economic thought and who may not have the mathematics necessary for a more rigorous treatment of the subject. However, the foundation it will give you will be sound and ecumenical enough to allow you to take on further studies in various branches of macroeconomics that have a more defined theology on the role of government in the economy.