Customer Reviews

Microeconomic Theory: Basic Principles and Extensions

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I used this book for my first graduate microeconomic theory course and really have to compliment my professor for making an excellent choice. Although I`m sure there are much more rigorous books on the subject out there, like the Mas-Collel et al., when viewed in its own right, Nicholson`s book is hard to top. The book deserves the greatest merit for not being wordy; all points are covered briefly and to the point with many sample problems that are challenging and further the understanding of the material. Finally, I think the author deserves some praise for the mathematical notation, too. He uses conventional notation that econ students are accustomed to from their first math econ courses and doesn`t try to show what a rocket scientist he is, by trying to confuse people. Anyone with a solid background in basic calculus should be able to get through the book on their own. Almost all steps are presented clearly and even in those rare cases where that`s not the case, the student is able to figure out what`s going on easily. I can only recommend buying this book. For people requiring more rigour and coverage, get an advanced theory text, but for first year graduate students and those who need a quick review for more advanced courses, Nicholson`s text is a great point of departure and shouldn`t be missing on any serious economics student`s book shelf.

I have used this as a textbook for my second year microeconomic theory course. I think this is definitely a good reference for mathematical approach to economics. This book definitely assumes some exposure to beginning microeconomics, so this is not a beginners text. It is a nice book because it has a lot of interesting info beside standard micro topics, such as risk aversion. Exaples and graphs are helpful to illustrate the concepts. Excercises are hard (at least some of them), so get the solution manual. I also found this textbook interesting because it has a lot of footnotes with additional details, and "extensions" in the end of each chapter which take the topics a bit futher. Another helpful feature was the list of recommended literature for each topic. Even though I am not sure if I will continue in economics, I am still keeping this book for myself because I had a good experience with it.

It is very good textbook to learn microeconomics with intuitions and methodology. But, some people are comparing this book with Mas Colell. Nonsense! Mas Colell is a PhD level, pretty technical, "heavy duty" book. This book is an intermediate level book for senior undergrads or master students. On the other hand, Binger&Hofmann's Microeconomics with Calculus book is better then this, in my opinion. It has less story more information. This book spends lots of lines to explain some small points which is boring for someone who should know these stories before starting graduate studies. But it is more comprehensive than baby Varian. Some departments are using Pyndick's book, but I didn't use it. I believe that Binger&Hofmann is the best in this category if you wanna learn Microeconomics using mathematical tools.

After using this book for a math-intensive micro theory course, I would heartily recommend Nicholson's text, which is written clearly with relevant examples and straightforward, useful problems at the end of each chapter. The book is very math-intense and requires a good knowlege of multivariable calculus, but since the reader is probably buying this book for a class, he or she most likely already has the mathematics background necessary. Thumbs up.

My professor likes to derive new equations and lemmas and what-not at lightning speed, so Nicholson is very useful for filling in what I missed. It explains all the math in great detail and provides economic intuition, plus it gives examples and summarizes key concepts. What more could you ask for?!

I used this text in an intermediate microeconomic theory course, but have a math background. The first half of the text is acceptable - concepts are presented well, and there are a good number of examples. The biggest problem is that the author or typesetter seems to not understand the correct use of parenthesis - many of the formulae are not correct! The section on game theory, which is the second half of the book, is quite poor. Greater depth is needed, and crucial theory is glanced over. It would be fine for a course which doesn't get past chapter 12 or so, but look elsewhere for game theory.

the shipping was alright.. the book is new and pretty good. happy with it overall..=)