Macroeconomics [Hardcover]

Bradford DeLong (Author), Martha Olney (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 12, 2005 | ISBN-10: 0072877588 | ISBN-13: 978-0072877588 | Edition: 2

A valuable perspective on global macroeconomics

Macroeconomics incorporates a strong international and historical perspective and includes unprecedented coverage on the crucial topic of long-term growth. Mathematics are simplified and kept to a minimum. Extensive use of real-world examples, along with the authors’ significant policy-making experience, strengthen and clarify connections between concepts discussed and the impact of policy decisions on everyday life.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

J. Bradford DeLong is a professor at the University of California–Berkeley.

Martha L. Olney is an adjunct professor at the University of California–Berkeley.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 584 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill/Irwin; 2 edition (July 12, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0072877588
• ISBN-13: 978-0072877588
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #341,412 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I would put most low reviews of this work down to politics, October 18, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Macroeconomics (Hardcover)

This is an excellent intermediate Macro textbook, and the writing style is more acessible than one usually encounters at this level of economics.
The theory is up-to-date and couched in less political dogma than similar products from other sources.

This is not an introduction to Macro!
This is a first-term MBA or intermediate BA/BS course!

Given the lower quality of the competing texts I have read, I put down most low reviews to sight-unseen grousing by partisans who wish to inflict monetary loss on Professor DeLong for his political views.
In todays political climate this is unsurprising, but it is quite disturbing that it has reached this far into solid science.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Without doubt one of the best on the market, November 7, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Macroeconomics (Hardcover)

I don't normally bother to review books, but the comments on this book are so bizarre I feel the need to respond. This is a textbook for the intermediate macroeconomics level. Someone coming to this book with no economics background at all might find the book hard going in places, but that is to be expected; it is not intended as a piece of popular writing on economics.

I am very familiar with intermediate macroeconomic textbooks -- indeed, I wrote ancillary material for one of the leading textbooks currently on the market -- and I think DeLong's textbook is one of the best books around. For many topics it is *the* best book.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good book-- but why you might not like it., April 7, 2007

By 

Ralph Hiesey - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Macroeconomics (Paperback)

When I first read the reviews of this book I (also) was puzzled by the great divergence of opinion expressed among some reviewers. After purchasing it (on the recommendation of a professor of economics at UCSC)I found it to be quite a good and relatively clear introduction to macroeconomics. This is from someone who finds many of the economic explanations on Wikipedia quite baffling.

However I have a theory about the cause of the difference of opinion expressed by the reviewers: Although the book claims to only require algebra for understanding the math, I believe that a good familiarity with calculus is very helpful in interpreting much of the mathematical explanation of macroeconomics. This is NOT because the book uses the obvious language of calculus ("derivatives" and "integrals"), but rather because it extensively uses the language of functions--and calculus is generally the first math course that more extensively exercises one's thinking about functions. Macroeconomics is not just about "solving equations", it is about understanding functions and how they interact with each other. Although you could grope through this book without familiarity with calculus I think that my background of calculus helped a lot in making it easier to digest many of the mathematical explanations.

Nevertheless many of his other non mathematical explanations in the earlier part of the book should reward even those without such a background. I thought that is explanations on many topics was quite clear and complete.