Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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65 of 68 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Simply put, the best economics textbook on the market, August 8, 2004
UPDATE: This is the 3rd edition. The 4th edition just came out, and it is excellent. I have read every page, and will post a review as soon as I have time. But in the meantime, do not buy the 3rd edition. (I'm not sure why Amazon is still selling this now outdated edition.)
The rest of my review of the 3rd edition follows:
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For 10 years, I have taught intro-level economics courses at a university. I have used a variety of books, and read many others (to steal their best ideas and examples for my teaching!). Mankiw is the one I like best.
More importantly, Mankiw is the one my students consistently like best. I often survey students near the end of the semester about their satisfaction with different aspects of the textbook, including: clarity, brevity, real-world relevance, effective layout & use of color, quality of the diagrams, and so forth. I tell my students not to sign their survey - I want their responses to be anonymous and completely candid. I tell students "If this book doesn't work for you, PLEASE tell me so that I can use a better one for my next batch of students."
More than any other textbook I've used, Mankiw's Economics textbook gets the highest student ratings in every category.
It might also be helpful for you to know about the difficulty level of Mankiw. I would describe it as average. For comparison, I would describe the following as above average difficulty level: Stockman, Stiglitz, Baumol/Blinder, Case/Fair, and Parkin. I would describe these books as below average difficulty level: Tucker, Miller, Bade/Parkin, Boyes/Melvin, and O'Sullivan/Sheffrin. I think the difficulty level of Mankiw is roughly comparable to that of Schiller, Colander, McConnell/Brue, and McEachern.
Despite that Mankiw is merely "average" difficulty level, it maintains a fairly good degree of analytical rigor.
Also, the writing style is student-friendly (but definitely not too informal), and, unlike other textbooks, Mankiw avoids introducing a lot of terms that won't be important for anything later in the book. The layout is attractive, yet clean and uncluttered, with lots of space in the margins for students to jot notes if they wish. Students find the end-of-chapter exercises very helpful.
The most distinguishing characteristic of the macroeconomics chapters is Mankiw's innovative approach. He first covers long-run topics: What determines a country's standard of living in the long run? What is the cause of the long-run upward trend in the cost of living? Why is there unemployment when things are "normal" (i.e. not a recession)? And many others (including saving, investment, the government budget deficit, the trade balance - all things you hear about on the evening news every day).
Then, he turns to short-run issues, such as recessions and booms.
Why treat the long run first? Because it's easier to learn the short-run analysis after students have learned the long-run equilibrium around which the economy fluctuates. (Also, there is much more agreement in the profession about the long-run analysis, whereas there's a fair amount of controversy over some of the details of the short-run analysis.)
How is this approach received? Very well, as evidenced by the fact that many other textbooks have copied it AFTER Mankiw first popularized it with the first edition of his Principles book, and before that, the first edition of his excellent intermediate macroeconomics textbook.
Mankiw is a superstar in the profession - and outside of it, as well. President Bush tapped him to be the Chairperson of the President's Council of Economic Advisors, and Mankiw briefs the President once or twice every week (in addition to many other important responsibilities.)
Despite working for a Republican Administration, Mankiw presents a very balanced treatment of economics in his textbooks (and I am telling you this as a Democrat). In fact, Mankiw prefers GOOD ideas, whether Republican or Democrat. For example, he recently argued for a gas tax increase to encourage conservation, and suggested the revenue be given back to consumers in the form of an income tax cut. Mankiw clearly does not just "push the Party line." This is integrity.
The company that publishes Mankiw's Principles of Economics textbooks, Thomson/South-Western, invests a lot of resources into continually improving this book. Compared to any other textbook publisher I know, they hire more student and teacher reviewers and devote more time and effort and money into obtaining, processing, and incorporating critical user feedback so that each edition, and accompanying supplements, are the very best they can be.
All in all, I readily recommend Mankiw's Principles of Economics textbook.
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70 of 76 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best and most fun economics textbook, September 3, 2003
Years back I read in The Economist an excellent review about this textbook at the time it first came out. The article suggested that the bible of econ textbook had been so far the one written by Paul Samuelson. But, The Economist book review made an excellent case that Mankiw textbook should become the prevailing introduction to economics textbook. Why is that? Well, Mankiw book covers all the subject and the technicalities Samuelson textbook covers. Additionally, Mankiw book is hip, current, entertaining, and fun to read. His economic examples are full of pop stars, movie stars, sports heroes, and other mass media public figure we all know off. He brings in as supportive educational material many columns from the Wall Street Journal, or New York Times written by famous economists such as Paul Krugman, and Lester Thurow among others.A day after reading The Economist book review I bought the book. I read and studied it with so much pleasure over the next two months that I felt I was back in some of the best classes I had ever taken in undergrad and grad school. Today, as part of my work as an internal financial consultant for a major U.S. bank, I often do research projects regarding fairly esoteric economics issues. And, I often review and study specific chapters of this book to refresh my economics foundation. I gather by now you can tell I love this book. Anyone who has an interest in economics should acquire this book first as educational enjoyment, and second as an invaluable reference.
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67 of 75 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Arming a new generation of students, and citizens, March 5, 2000
Economics is the most abused science, the one most prone to fallacies (to which Henry Hazlitt's Economics in One Lesson is devoted), and yet certainly one of the most important. I purchased this textbook ten years after graduating from college, having read rave reviews and predictions of what it would mean for new generations of students freed from the long-outdated Keynesian textbook by Paul Samuelson, and indeed I was not disappointed. The book is not merely complete, comprehensive, and modern--it is designed to get knowledge into your head with maximum efficiency and enjoyment. A reviewer below called accused it of oversimplification, which I would call inaccurate even if it weren't an introductory text, in which space simply does not permit inclusion of the details of outmoded theories. Unless you are a student, you are unlikely to read it from start to finish, but you will find yourself skipping from one interesting topic or sidebar to the next that catches your eye.Samuelson once said, "I don't care who writes a nation's laws, or crafts its advanced treaties, if I can write its economic textbooks," and Mankiw even slyly quotes him in his preface. Along with politics, the knowledge of economics is mandatory for being an informed voter. If more citizens were armed with this textbook, bonehead politicians would be a lot more respectful, and responsive to our real long-term needs.
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