Principles of Economics [Hardcover]

N. Gregory Mankiw (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 10, 2011 | ISBN-10: 0538453052 | ISBN-13: 978-0538453059 | Edition: 6

With its clear and engaging writing style, Principles of Economics (Sixth Edition) continues to be one of the most popular books on economics available today. Mankiw emphasizes material that you are likely to find interesting about the economy (particularly if you are studying economics for the first time), including real-life scenarios, useful facts, and the many ways economic concepts play a role in the decisions you make every day.

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About This Edition

Principles of Economics (Sixth Edition) became a bestseller after its introduction and continues to be the most popular and widely used text in the economics classroom. Instructors found it the perfect complement to their teaching. A text by a superb writer and economist that stressed the most important concepts without overwhelming students with an excess of detail was a formula that was quickly imitated, but has yet to be matched. The sixth edition features a strong revision of content in all thirty-six chapters. Dozens of new applications emphasize the real-world relevance of economics for today's students through interesting news articles, realistic case studies, and engaging problems. The premier ancillary package is the most extensive in the industry, using a team of instructors and preparers who have been with the project since the first edition. The text material is again fully integrated into Aplia, the best-selling online homework solution.

"I have tried to put myself in the position of someone seeing economics for the first time. My goal is to emphasize the material that students should--and do--find interesting about the study of the economy." – N. Gregory Mankiw

New Features

• The new, sixth edition of Principles of Economics contains extensively updated coverage of areas impacted by the financial crisis.


• The sixth edition will be available with the most advanced new products for student and instructor choice, engagement, and outcomes.


• New "Problems and Applications" appear throughout the sixth edition, providing an effective, integrated way for students to assess their mastery of the material and to review more efficiently for assignments and exams.

Additional Features

• Created by economist Ron Cronovich of Carthage College, Premium PowerPoint^® Presentations feature chapter-by-chapter slides designed to ease educators' course preparation time while increasing student involvement in the classroom. The presentations organize lecture points into sections that students can easily digest, animate graphs the way instructors might draw them, and include "Student Note Prompt" handouts to facilitate effective note taking without distracting students from active participation in class.


• "In the News" boxes include excerpts from many newspaper articles and encourage students to apply basic economic theory to discover how economics can provide an illuminating new perspective and enable greater understanding of world events.


• "FYI" boxes provide additional material to expand key concepts and discussions by offering a glimpse into the history of economic thought, clarifying technical issues, and exploring supplementary topics you might choose to complement your core lectures.


• Economic theory is most useful and interesting when applied to actual events and policies, which is why the text contains numerous Case Studies to vividly illustrate the real-world applications and consequences of key principles.


• "Quick Quizzes" follow each major section to help students check their comprehension of what they just learned and to focus their review when preparing for exams.


• Each chapter contains a variety of problems and applications that encourage students to apply the material they have learned. These practical, interesting activities serve equally well as homework assignments and starting points for lively classroom discussions.

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Explore this title's supplements:

Study Guide for Mankiw's "Principles of Economics" (Sixth Edition)

Principles of Microeconomics (Sixth Edition)

Principles of Macroeconomics (Sixth Edition)

Economics for Life: 101 Lessons You Can Use Every Day (Third Edition)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I think it is more reader friendly than other texts. In addition, it uses both numeric and/or graphical examples, which is very useful for the students."

"We used to use Case and Fair's text. Mankiw seems to be a better text because it actually follows through with giving applications to what he includes in the book. For example, there is much better material in Mankiw about consumer surplus, producer surplus, government policies and interventions in the market."

"Very student friendly text. Makes economics easy to understand. Some of the other texts would take a lot of reading to explain an idea."

About the Author

N. Gregory Mankiw is Professor of Economics at Harvard University. He has taught macroeconomics, microeconomics, statistics, and principles of economics. Professor Mankiw is a prolific writer and a regular participant in academic and policy debates. His research includes work on price adjustment, consumer behavior, financial markets, monetary and fiscal policy, and economic growth. His published articles have appeared in academic journals such as the AMERICAN ECONOMIC REVIEW, JOURNAL OF POLITICAL ECONOMY, and QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS and in more widely accessible forums including THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE WASHINGTON POST, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, and FORTUNE. In addition to his teaching, research, and writing, Professor Mankiw has been a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, an adviser to the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and the Congressional Budget Office, and a member of the ETS test development committee for the advanced placement exam in economics. From 2003 to 2005, he served as chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisers. In addition, he maintains a very popular blog for students of economics at http://www.gregmankiw.blogspot.com.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 888 pages
• Publisher: Cengage Learning; 6 edition (February 10, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0538453052
• ISBN-13: 978-0538453059
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 1.4 x 10 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,900 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #48 in Books > Education & Reference > Schools & Teaching > Pedagogy
  • #48 in Books > Business & Investing > Popular Economics
  • #72 in Books > Business & Investing > Economics

More About the Author

N. Gregory Mankiw is Professor of Economics at Harvard University. As a student, he studied economics at Princeton University and MIT. As a teacher, he has taught macroeconomics, microeconomics, statistics, and principles of economics. He even spent one summer long ago as a sailing instructor on Long Beach Island.

Professor Mankiw is a prolific writer and a regular participant in academic and policy debates. His research includes work on price adjustment, consumer behavior, financial markets, monetary and fiscal policy, and economic growth. His published articles have appeared in academic journals, such as the "American Economic Review", "Journal of Political Economy", and "Quarterly Journal of Economics", and in more widely accessible forums, such as "The New York Times", "The Washington Post", "The Wall Street Journal", and "Fortune".

He has written two popular textbooks--the intermediate-level textbook Macroeconomics (Worth Publishers) and the introductory textbook Principles of Economics (South-Western/Thomson). Principles of Economics has sold over a million copies and has been translated into twenty languages.

In addition to his teaching, research, and writing, Professor Mankiw has been a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, an adviser to the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and the Congressional Budget Office, and a member of the ETS test development committee for the advanced placement exam in economics. From 2003 to 2005 he served as Chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisers.

To view his blog: http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#72 in Books > Business & Investing

#72 in Books > Business & Investing

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 47 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The best economics textbook for teaching, the best for learning June 2, 2011

By Ron Cronovich TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover

I have taught intro-level econ courses for 17 years, both at a large state university and a small liberal arts college. I have used 6 or 7 different books, and read many others (in search of the best examples and the best ways of explaining concepts to students). Mankiw's book is the one I like best, and the one my students like best: Every time I try a different book, I have my students fill out a survey about the book at the end of the semester, and I urge them to be brutally honest. They consistently give Mankiw the highest marks.

The writing in Mankiw is very clear. Economics can be an intimidating subject, both to 18-year-olds just out of high school who haven't learned good study habits yet, and to adult learners coming back to college for the first time in many years. Mankiw is gifted at explaining complex concepts in ways that are easy to understand, though he never talks down to his reader.

He uses lots of examples that are easy to relate to. For example, take comparative advantage, one of the most fundamental, important, and non-controversial lessons of economics. Mankiw introduces this concept by asking the question "Should Tom Brady mow his own lawn?" One of the best football players in the history of the game probably could mow his lawn more quickly than just about anyone, but it's obvious that he has far more lucrative ways of spending his time, so it is mutually beneficial for him to hire someone to cut his lawn - even if the person he hires isn't absolutely as efficient at lawn-cutting. This is exactly the idea of comparative advantage, and students "get it" so much better when they read Mankiw's explanation of it. Mankiw explains many other complicated concepts using simple, easy to understand parables and examples.

Mankiw also brings the concepts to life using tons of compelling real-world examples. For instance, the chapter "The Monetary System" explains bank balance sheets and the concept of leverage, and then uses these concepts to give the reader insight into the recent financial crisis: the defaults that started occurring when the housing bubble burst in 2007 had a much more devastating impact on the banking system precisely because banks were so highly leveraged; this also helps the reader understand the infamous "TARP" and Federal Reserve / Treasury Department efforts to inject capital into the banking system, and the debate over financial reform leading to the Dodd-Frank financial reform act.

The chapters are short enough to be read in one sitting. College students have many demands on their time. They are much more likely to read a chapter if it is 20 pages long and can be read in an hour than if it is 30 or 40 pages long and requires two hours. Mankiw achieves this partly with good, concise writing, and partly by limiting the topics he covers to what's essential, and cutting out the filler. He is a very good judge of picking just the right content to cover in each chapter to keep the chapters short and not overwhelming, and he's much better than most textbook authors at expressing concepts concisely.

An often-overlooked quality of textbooks is the design, layout, and use of color. The layout of Mankiw's book is clean and simple, with an effective use of color. Even the typeface and quality of the paper is better than many other books. Pick any 5 econ textbooks and open them, and Mankiw, to a random page. The difference is very clear - Mankiw's design and layout is calming, clean, and effective, while other books are cluttered and over-use different colors, which contributes to a sense of confusion and being overwhelming.

I know the book is expensive - most textbooks are. But I know this publisher and many of the people who work on this book. The publisher spares no expense in hiring the best people, from editors to layout design to accuracy checkers. They also invest massive resources into gathering highly detailed feedback from hundreds of users - professors and students; the author and editor and others spend very many hours pouring over this feedback and other information to continually improve the book. Yes, they are doing this because it is very lucrative. But they are also quite sincerely dedicated to making the best possible textbook they can.

Still not convinced? If you live near a major university and have some time, visit its bookstore and find the shelf with the economics textbooks. Chances are good that Mankiw is on the shelf (it is the #1 selling principles book). Pick up a copy, and a copy of a few other econ textbooks. Scan the contents for some topic you think is important - maybe supply and demand, or monetary policy and inflation, or whatever. Spend 5 minutes comparing Mankiw's discussion of that topic with other books' coverage of the same topic. Or, just trust me, I have done these comparisons before, on many topics, and I can tell you, Mankiw is the best book.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars As good as a textbook on this subject gets August 24, 2011

By J. Davis

Format:Hardcover

Let's face it--an economics textbook is never going to be thrilling. I don't see kids putting down Harry Potter to read this. But if you have to read a economics texbook, this is the best one to get. Mankiw keeps it from being too stuffy with some fun anecdotes from popular culture--in an earlier version, Tiger Woods was used as an example to discuss comparative advantage; since his debauchery Mankiw has replaced him with Tom Brady. While the author is a staunch Republican--he was Bush's top adviser for a few years--there is no sign of partisanship or ideology in the book.

As a side note, Mankiw is accessible@ his Harvard e-mail address; he will answer questions sent. His blog is gregmankiw.blogspot.com

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Impeccable Quality February 18, 2012

By Alexandros Z. Brod

Format:Hardcover

This is by far the absolute best textbook on any subject I have ever read. If you want to understand the world today, you should purchase and read this book.