Economics [Hardcover]

Paul Krugman (Author), Robin Wells (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1572591501 | ISBN-13: 978-1572591509 | Publication Date: December 28, 2005 | Edition: 1st

Krugman/Wells takes a story-driven approach that focuses on real-world economics at work. The book offers the hallmark clarity and engaging writing style that distinguish Paul Krugman's work, from his best-selling international economics text to his New York Times best-sellers.
 

Editorial Reviews

Review

"'The European adaptation of Krugman provides an outstanding introduction to Economics. To a very high standard this text allows students to gain a firm understanding of economic ideas and principles. At the same time it brings the subject alive through topical and up-to-date examples and illustrations relevant to the contemporary European economy.' Andrew Healey, University of Swansea 'The applications using real world examples and the clarity of exposition make this the most accessible introductory text in economics around at the moment.' Stephen Smith, London Metropolitan University" --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

PAUL KRUGMAN is Professor of Economics at Princeton University, USA, where he regularly teaches the principles of economics course. Prior to his current position he taught at Yale, Stanford and MIT. He also spent a year on the staff of the Council of Economics Advisors in 1982-83. His research is mainly in the area of international trade, where he is one of the founders of the 'new trade theory'. He also works in international finance, with a concentration in currency crises. In 1991, Krugman received the American Economic Association's John Bates Clark medal. His earlier publications Peddling Prosperity and The Age of Diminished Expectations have become modern classics and his book The Great Unravelling: Losing Our Way in the New Century went straight to the top of the Amazon.com bestseller list. ROBIN WELLS is Researcher in Economics at Princeton University, USA, where she teaches undergraduate courses. She has previously taught at the University of Southampton, the University of Michigan, Stanford and MIT. Her teaching and research focus on the theory of organizations and incentives. She writes regularly for academic journals. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1200 pages
• Publisher: Worth Publishers; 1st edition (December 28, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572591501
• ISBN-13: 978-1572591509
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #271,293 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Paul Krugman is the recipient of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Economics. He writes a twice-weekly op-ed column for the New York Times and a blog named for his 2007 book "The Conscience of a Liberal." He teaches economics at Princeton University. His books include "The Accidental Theorist," "The Conscience of a Liberal," "Fuzzy Math," "The Great Unraveling," "Peddling Prosperity," and two editions of "The Return of Depression Economics," both national bestsellers.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Econ 101 text book, June 2, 2010

By 

Toombs (Houston) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Economics (Hardcover)

Just bought this textbook and currently I am reading through it. This book is magnificent. It's well written and easy to understand, with detailed diagrams that clearly convey the economic principles the authors are explaining in the surrounding text. Of course diagrams are found in every economics textbook, but the organization and neat presentation of this book does wonders to aid learning, and in my opinion goes beyond other books I have read. Each chapter builds on the previous and really enlightens the reader regarding the most important principles of economic theory (micro and macro).

For those worried about Krugman and whether he has just layered this book full of leftist propaganda, consider this opening paragraph from Chapter 5:

"New York City is a place where you can find almost anything - that is, almost anything, except a taxicab when you need one or a decent apartment at a rent you can afford. You might think that New York's notorious shortages of cabs and apartments are the inevitable price of big-city living. However, they are largely the product of government policies - specifically, of government policies that have, one way or another, tried to prevail over the market forces of supply and demand."

I'll be honest, as a avid reader of Krugman in the NYT, I'd never expected to read such a paragraph in this book. Krugman saying that sometimes the government is the problem? Krugman goes on to explain exactly what policies are to blame for the housing shortage and taxi cab shortage in New York.

The rest of the textbook is full of similar balance. He constantly keeps surprising me and making me think about things that I've never noticed before, such as the housing problem in New York. Who knew such a problem has a simple explanation? (The explanation they give is that the housing shortage is caused by rent control, "a law that prevents landlords from raising rents except when specifically given permission.")

He and Robin really deliver a fair and balanced discussion of economics from Adam Smith up to present day. The book is full of little tidbits of information that Krugman and Wells call "Economics in Action" and "For Inquiring Minds" that usually contain little stories he's simply pulled from his daily reading of the New York Times and other newspapers. He comments on them from an professional economist's point of view and relates them to the current discussion in whatever chapter they appear.

For example, in Chapter 3 under "Economics in Action," Robin writes (as far as I know, Krugman wrote the macro chapters, and Robin wrote the micro):

"Thousands in Mexico City protest rising food prices." So read the headline in the New York Times on February 1, 2007. Specifically, the demonstrators were protesting a sharp rise in the price of tortillas, a staple food of Mexico's poor, which had a gone from 25 cents a pound to between 35 and 45 cents a pound in just a few months.

Why were tortilla prices soaring? It was a classic example of what happens to equilibrium prices when supply falls. Tortillas are made from corn; much of Mexico's corn is imported from the United States, with the price of corn in both countries basically set in the U.S. corn market. And U.S. corn prices were rising rapidly thanks to the surging demand in a new market: the market for ethanol."

It's an interesting little factoid about a real life situation and he (or she) relates it to the subject of the chapter, which was Supply and Demand in that case. The book is littered with different examples on all sorts of topics in every chapter. And notice, once again Krugman could have gone off in a rant against the North American Free Trade agreement, and how the U.S. Government's subsidies to farming was also partly responsible for running Mexico's corn producers out of business by flooding the global market with cheap corn (or something to that effect), but he never does. He keeps it professional and on topic, and it really provides a great learning experience. This is one of those textbooks that is so good a teacher isn't needed to assist in learning process.

So needless to say I'm quite impressed. The few problems in the Second Edition I received from Amazon include various printing mistakes - such as on a few pages there is text printed on top of a graph that shouldn't be there. Not sure if that is just a one time printing error or something that is in all 2nd editions. But it's not enough to recommend staying away from this book. So if you are looking to learn more about economics, and even if you are just a layman and know nothing about economics, you can't go wrong with this book. I guarantee if you have even the slightest interest in this subject then you'll find this a delightful read.

63 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the new heavy hitter, June 27, 2008

By 

Caraculiambro (La Mancha and environs) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Economics (Hardcover)

The three most popular books for teaching freshman-level econ in college (and AP Econ in high schools) are, in order, McConnell and Brue, Mankiw, and this one.

It's being talked about as the next big text in the field.

If you read Krugman's column, he leans to the left, sometimes far to the left. But he's not like that in this book, which is firmly centrist.

And I'm no big Krugman fan, but I have to say: this book totally kills McConnell and Brue. Krugman's years of experience as a writer really show through: the text is never boring.

82 of 98 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Be careful what you buy, February 8, 2007

By 

A reader (Hong Kong) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Economics (Hardcover)

I have this book ("Economics") and have only dipped into it so far - but Amazon doesn't allow me to bypass the star rating so I'll give it 5, just to be positive.

My warning though is that, when I look at the book in Amazon, I am encouraged to buy "Macroeconomics" by the same authors.

The problem is, as far as I can tell from the chapter summaries and sample chapters on the publisher's website [...], "Macroecomics" has the same content as "Economics", except that "Economics" also includes microeconomics (which is another book in itself). (Incidentally, that website has lots of good material on the books, including sample chapters.)

In other words, the contents of "Economics" is very roughly:

1) Introduction to economics, supply & demand and other subjects common to both micro and macroeconomics;
2) Microeconomics;
3) Macroeconomics.

The separate book "Macroeconomics" is parts 1) & 3), and the separate book "Microeconomics" is parts 1) & 2).

[...]