Customer Reviews

Economics

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I used this text in an Econ class last semester (my first in a few years) and this book was great. The summaries were helpful, there are several in each chapter instead of one at the end, that's very handy when you're looking for specific information. There are lots of charts to help with the formulas. My favorite areas included the chapters on Antitrust Policy and Regulation, Agriculture, Income Inequality, and the Costs of Production. Economics can be pretty dry subject matter, luckily I also had a lively instructor. Obviously as a student you don't get much say in which text you use, but this is a good one.

If you have the misfortune of being assigned this book, I feel for you. The book is filled with needlessly complicated explanations, some of which don't contribute anything to the subject. The authors love to interrupt sentences with variables and equations that could have been saved for information boxes.

The only thing that made this book tolerable is that figure captions and summaries were left to a competent editor. The book could be cut in half with a sufficiently critical editing pass. Don't buy this if your curriculum offers a choice of books.

Edit:

One thing to keep in mind while reading is that the text references graphs that appear 1-3 pages before or after the mention. When you come to a graph, keep a placemark on that page. Any text that references a graph is almost unintelligible without the graph, and that constitutes about 70% of each chapter.

The newer edition of this book is out- however all the 18th edition does is flip the micro and macro sections. very easy to figure out. saved a lot of money.

As an engineering major taking microeconomics, I was dreading the textbook. I had started (and subsequently had to drop) an economics class several years ago, and the memories of it were not enjoyable. So I was surprised by this textbook. It is not too terribly dry, given the subject matter, and it is filled with examples. My only negative comment would be that, for me at least, there is a little too much repetition. However, overall I would say it is an excellent resource.

I acquired this book to refresh my 60 year old training in economics, because of contemporary commentators' sometimes casual use of such terms as "profit" and "marginal."

Well it is comprehensive, illustrates with data through 2005, discusses a number of modern terms, but, like the texts I studied years ago, it doesn't use evem the elementary calculus and algebra concepts that are taught in high school these days -- derivative, integral, max, min, slope, solving f(x)=g(x).
It could be an easier read if it used these ideas in addition to the graphic methods it does use well.

Don't have much to compare it to but seems to explain things fairly well and use applicable examples that tie everything together.

It's a good book. It has a good summary in each chapter. Great to study econ.

This book has been great so far. It's recommended for my econ 2301 course. We are delving into macroeconomics which is chapter 6. It's easy to understand. It's what's expected from your nornal textbook.

Got the book a couple of days late, but am happy with my product, and I am willing to buy from these people again.

This book covers most of the stuff...but I would NOT recommend it...especially to beginners in Economics.

The book starts with basic micro, then jumps to macro in like 5 or 6 chapters. I didn't even want to read this thing...it is horrendously written, the examples are not that clear, and overall I just did not like it. I have the 16th edition, so maybe they improved a bit in the 17th, but I doubt by much anyway.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND N. GREGORY MANKIW's book
Principles of Economics, 4th Edition (Student Edition)

I LOVE THAT BOOK, IT IS MORE ENJOYABLE TO READ THAN A NOVEL!! (I am not kidding either, I learned so much from that book, it was so clear, easy to read, and was also in depth)