Customer Reviews

Economics For Dummies

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is probably the first and last review I'll ever do of a "Dummies" book, but I just had to give this book a plug. Whoever wrote it (I don't remember and I'm too lazy to scroll up and see) did a fantastic job. It's really good!

I confess that I was so impressed with the explanations and examples offered in this book that for a while I mulled over having our school switch from our current texts (Mankiw's "Principles of Macroeconomics" and Samuelson's "Economics") to this one.

But I soon thought better of it: the department would probably acquire a bad name in a big hurry if students were seen walking about with copies of a "Dummies" text under their arms as their official course text. And that would be bad for me.

But that's how good it is. Too bad I'm so self-interested! Now the students will just have to slog through inferior texts.

Don't think you're getting a free lunch, though: there are graphs, models, and equations you're gonna have to learn to wade through it.

But in my estimation, going through a layman's course in both micro- and macroeconomics could not be made more painless than here, unless your needs are so casual that you're looking to dispense with graphs and equations altogether.

In which case, good luck learning anything solid about economics!

I got this book because I wanted to learn about the basics of economics and the multitude of terms associated with it. It did a very good job of explaining the major universal concepts of economics, and when the author did have to "dumb" parts down in order to avoid over-complications, he very clearly stated this, which I liked. The book certainly did not cover very advanced topics, and I did not expect it to. It gave a good simple framework on the basic principles, which is what I was looking for.

One of the things I did not like, which may be just because its part of the "for dummies" series, is that much of the book's content says things like: "In this chapter, I'm going to talk about such and such" or "Please refer to chapter 10 to learn about such and such". I just felt it got extreme at times and that these constant references detracted from the actual content at times. I also am not a fan of the constant joking in the text, especially when it comes in the middle of important content, but that just comes with the Dummies books I guess. If you can filter that out though, then I think this is a good introduction to basic economics and I got what I wanted from it.

I bought this book as a primer for a micro economics class I'm taking for my MBA. It's been a while since I took economics as an undergrad, and I needed a refresher. This book was great. At a high level, it introduced me to the concepts I needed to know to succeed:

- supply and demand
- utility maximizing consumers
- profit maximizing companies
- the relationship between marginal and average cost
- consumer and producer surplus
- deadweight loss
- profitability and competitive markets

If you need a high-level intro without lots of algebraic equations and stuffy writing, then this is the book for you.

I took an economics course back in college in 1990. Even though I did get an A on the course, I had forgotten most of the concepts. I read this book for fun reading and as a life long learning refresher. Since it has been 16 years since I read an economics book, I cannot compare this book to other books. However, I thought that the book was easy to read and the information easy to digest.

Based on the other reviews on Amazon, I picked up this book to assist me with a graduate economics course after realizing that I was way in over my head. I'd never had an economics course before, so this book had to substitute for the undergraduate education that I was lacking. The verdict? I read it in one weekend, and caught up to speed in my grad class the next week. Definitely worth the investment.

I've personally gotten quite a bit out of Economics for Dummies, but then I have an MA in economics, studied with some of the professors the author thanks in his Acknowledgements section, and just picked it up to read for a lark. If you really are new to economics (or really are a dummy) then this book is NOT for you! The author is far too glib, has sloppy arguments and just plain confuses or irritates the heck out of anyone who reads the book carefully. Just three examples:

1)He drags out an explanation of why the Long Run Aggregate Supply curve (LRAS) is vertical but never does actually explain why. He just thinks he does. It's not that I don't believe him, but he made me come up with my own reasons for believing it, not his.
2)He constantly makes claims about the "stability" of market solutions that just are not valid in any real situation. Stability only approximately exists when the economy is performing smoothly, but a decent hiccup of any kind has to be managed or you end up in a bubble or a bust. In fact he gives many examples of how markets can fail, which leads to my third and final point.
3)The author sounds unnecessarily conservative in his constant harping on "sticky wages" as being a key cause of slow recovery from recessions. My huge property tax is pretty darn sticky too. So are the principals of business loans, credit cards and mortgages - as we're all seeing too well in 2009 - after all, as the author points out, one of money's functions is as a store of value.

I could go on ad nauseum but I won't. Suffice it to say, this book is not for beginners, but I enjoyed parts of it and managed to learn from it by thinking very hard about why I disagreed with the author's arguments so often. Personally, I think an intelligent newcomer would be very turned off to the field of economics if they begin with this book.

I highly recommend this book to those who wants rudimentary Economics knowledge. It is ladened with graphs and basic algebraic equations which made the concepts easier to understand. The author has dispelled my long belief that the subject is "dull".

I was looking for a book to refresh my basic understanding of macro- and microeconomics for a certification exam I am preparing for. This book was great. It is very well written and the author knows how to explain these concepts so that they are easily understood.

I actually found it hard to put the book down while reading some parts of it. While I won't call the whole book a page-turner, it was an informative and enjoyable read.

As an Engineering Economy professor in a local University (I'm an Engineer), I always receive questions from my students regarding Economics issues; I bought this book in order to learn a little bit more of the field, but I learned in excess of what my students need to know.

Now, when asked an Economics question, my answer start as "I'm just an Engineer but I know that..." instead of "I'm not an Economist, but to the best of my knowledge...". Kudos to Dr Flynn for a fine work.

This is the best primer on basic economics I've ever read. Masaki writes with tremendous clarity. As promised, every concept covered--always clearly and with admirable thoroughness--is accompanied by relevant, illuminating real-life examples. The book is a treasure for anyone wanting to discover the world of economics.