Customer Reviews

Intermediate Microeconomics: A Modern Approach, Sixth Edition

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

 

 

Sorry about the epithet, but in the election season, I couldn't resist! The book's detractors (relatively speaking) obviously aren't "stupid", but they do miss the point---which Varian tries to explain in the preface. So let's try a different tack. Today writing a computer program to do the math used in graduate economics is an undergraduate CS project. Let's let computers do the heavy lifting, and save people for the creative work.
That's what Varian is about. What the world needs is not more people who can manipulate derivatives of implicit functions, but more people who can connect data and stylized facts to appropriate (already known) theories. That's what this book tries to teach, and it is best of breed. Although it's not clear to me that "thinking like an economist" can be taught with great effectiveness (it's a "knack", not an algorithm), Varian over and over again demonstrates that he can clearly express the "inner working" of that mode of thought. As in Information Rules, he demonstrates that he can bring these ideas to those who are not going to be professional economists, but need to understand the analysis.
Of course, some in the audience for this book will make careers in which they seek, and find, data and facts that defy existing theory. For them, of course there are better ways to prepare for the technical prerequisites for graduate school. But years later, none of those books will be nearly as much help in avoiding a dissertation proposal that crumbles into dust, too dry to support itself.
Belongs with Samuelson's classic introductory text on your bookshelf.

This book is an excellent bridge from principles of microeconomics. However, while I am very good at applied economics, it falls short on explaining the mathematical concepts it introduces in the appendices. The most calculus I've had experience with is Brief calculus, but if you are to understand the equations in the appendices you'll need a little more calculus (unless you're born a math genius). The theories introduced in the book are clear and precise and make for easy reading and studying. If you want more concise understanding of the concepts, then I highly recommend purchasing the companion workbook.

I am a Public Policy student at the University of Chicago and used this book for an introductory Microeconomics course. Varian explains the concepts of Microeconomics well. Many of the previous reviews state that the book does not have many mathematical examples or questions. This is because there is a supplementary workbook that addresses only the math. (My professor assigned weekly problem sets based on the workbook problems.) By the end of the course, I felt that I understood the concepts and had a good foundation for future coursework. I believe this is very important for anyone who plans to take more Economics courses.

This book is considered the standard in the field of Economics. I recommend this book if you want to understand the concepts instead of just number crunching.

I am using this book at the moment for an undergraduate intermediate microeconomics course ...

The text is quite verbose, and it really requires reading twice in some parts to pick out what you really need! I suggest having some mathematic text books with lots of economic examples, as a back-up ... this is because I feel the examples in the book are hard to use, in the sense that you are learning something new and the examples are not straight-forward, so make the concepts hard to pick up in some parts of the book.

However, microeconomics is a huge subject and I wouldn't expect any one book to cover everything .... so expect to do some further reading to "catch" all concepts and get a good understanding of all the topics.

Overall, the book covers what you need to know ...

This book is what I call "literary economics"; there is very little mathematical explination, which is good for students in the usual 100/200 level economics courses, but completely useless afterwords. I was assigned to read this in my junior year, and after the first ten chapters, reverted to another book, called 'MicrcoEconomics with Calculus'. I do not believe that the professors who recommend this book for juniors (or God forbid, seniors) have actually looked in it, for the math proofs are few and far between, and fairly simple. However, for Freshman/Sophomores, I recommend it; it is a good base of theory, from which you can (if you wish) continue later on with math proofs, which are vital for higher level economics.

If you are in an advanced course and need help with math, I cannot recommend Alpha Chiang's 'Fundamental Methods of Mathematical Eocnomics' high enough. This book was a God-send to a economics student who needed to bring his understanding up quickly. Thank you, Alpha.

-student in Scotland

I think this book is okay but as many reviewers have said the math is a little lacking. While math is important to economics, it isn't necessarily for the math's sake that that is so. Incorporating both the math and specific examples utilizing math really clarifies the theory. I found myself confused about what microeconomic theory meant when there wasn't a lot of numerical examples to back it up. There are far better text books to get a really thorough grasp of microeconomic theory, but if you already have that fundamental grasp I think this one might refresh your memory. But I would recommend others if you are looking to learn the theory for the first time.

Of course this textbook is not without it's flaws, maybe the major one is it's wordiness and lack of rigor. But if you could stick through it and read most of it then perhaps you could get something out of it. It is quite unfair to say that this book is one of the "worst," "a pain to read," or "dull" It is probably a standard textbook used in most universities at the undergraduate level. The fact that it is widely-used and is on it's sixth edition means that most undergraduate students are comfortable with Varian's approach. I'm in graduate school already but I still refer to it once in a while whenever I forget some concepts. It is aimed at sophomore/junior students who may not have been exposed to multivariable calculus and optimization yet; or who may still have a weak foundation in the mathematical tools required, so maybe that is the reason the author has placed the more rigorous (calculus) treatment in the appendices, as further reading material for students who want to know more. Serious students of economics who would like to pursue postgraduate degrees should realize that there are lots of other reference books out there to satisfy their curiosity and their need for more mathematical rigor. Finally, I would like to say that although the study of economics could have a tendency to be pedantic or just an exercise in mental gymnastics, understanding and applying concepts in neo-classical economics may somehow help us understand how (and why) the world works.

The book may be good for undegrads, but I feel it is a real waste of time for gradaute students. Also the book is very light on Math. Most microeconomic concepts that the book teaches can be readily understood by an average students. Also there is plethora of material on the web for micro. So save your money

I used this book for the Cornell Econ 301 course, a calculus based intro to microeconomics. The professor taught everything in lecture so that the book was used only as a supplement. I read part of the book and found that it is too verbose and repetitive. The author could have explained everything in less than half of the book. The exercises are not helpful. Moreover, this little book is sold for more than a 100 dollars. Not worth the money at all.

i am in awe of this book.it gives all the necessary and sufficient information needed.a must go through book.it cleared all my fundamentals.