Book Description
A piercing and vital look at how capitalism is consuming U.S. society.
An apt sequel to Benjamin R. Barber's best-selling Jihad vs. McWorld, Consumed offers a wrenching portrait of how adult consumers are infantilized in a global economy that overproduces goods and targets children as consumers in a market where there are never enough shoppers. Driven by a frantic imperative to sell, consumer capitalism specializes today in the manufacture not of goods but of needs.
This provocative culmination of Barber's lifelong study of democracy and capitalism shows how the infantilist ethos deprives society of responsible citizens and displaces public goods with private commodities. Traditional liberal democratic society is colonized by an all-pervasive market imperative. Public space is privatized. Identity is branded. Our world, homogenized. With brilliance and depth, Barber confronts the likely consequences for our children, our liberty, and our citizenship, and shows finally how citizens can resist and transcend the civic schizophrenia with which consumerism has infected them.
Customer Reviews:
Hard read but.......2007-09-24
Benjamin R. Barber's "Consumed" is a hard book to read but a necessary one. Barber tells us how capitalism once met the "needs" of people and that it now just meets what he calls "faux" demand. It's the rise of the protestant ethics and ethos that has made capitalism thrive until today. The rise of infantilization and the dumbing of consumers has given corporations the power to control our so called "wants." Barber doesn't give us a solid solution to this (even he admits it will take a big effort) growing problem but it is a start.
How a book infantilizes adults and swallows citizens whole.......2007-09-03
It seems like there is an endless market for "Marx-lite" books by people who hate America and the West. Here is another example without a new idea in sight. Famous authors, such as Marx, Sombart, and Gaibraith, have previously rebottled this old wine. Like them, Barber hates our movies, our culture, our food, our sports, our consumer products, our free markets, and, of course, the likes of Wall Street, Silicon Valley, Gates, Gilder, Wal-Mart, GM, Google, and on and on. It is depressing just going through all the parts of America he feels are misdirected and even immoral. Is this really a person who loves America?
Where are the positive examples and why this perspective? Because, as the Nobel Prize winning economist Hayek has pointed out, for socialists, "Every activity must derive its justification from conscious social purpose." Thus Barber must tear down all those activities that he feels have either no purpose or the wrong social purpose. This quote by Hayek is a succinct summary of the motivation behind the book. Toward this end, Barber quotes many attention-grabbing sources. For example, on page 51 he asks us to consider, "Karl Marx who presciently explained how `the expansion of production and of needs becomes an ingenious and always calculating subservience to inhuman, depraved, unnatural, and imaginary appetites.'" A question: Does that really describe you or your friends?
Like most socialists, he has no respect for the individual: We are all at the mercy of those terrible companies who want to sucker us into buying things we don't want or need. Hey, but Barber will be happy to decide what we need. He knows the truth -- ask him. But why is he or some other group better qualified to decide what we need?
Barber has no understanding of free markets, the emerging global economy, or even the mom and pop shop on the corner. Like many academics, who have never produced anything but papers and books, he writes with absolute confidence and with noteworthy ignorance, not because he is unintelligent but rather because his starting perspective is wrong.
This is a long tedious book: Barber seems to crank this stuff out by the ton. As he would say, this book is an immoral waste of resources that we as consumers should reject because it has no larger social value. The only thing it has going for it is a mighty ad campaign aimed at corrupting children, infantilizing adults, and swallowing citizens whole. But, then again, each of us will have to decide that.
Right on the mark..........2007-08-16
I see a number of other reviewers belittling the book because of some trivial factual error regarding sports figures or celebrities, but in my eyes those points merely underscores the point that Barber is trying to make. In the end the constant media focus on these types of people is in my eyes a mass distraction. Does it change my life one iota when a drunken celebrity does something stupid? Not at all, but the media covers it for hour on end, and people lap it up.
People defend popular culture such as Harry Potter or Shrek, but these are all pure escapism and have very little relevance to our daily lives. Reviewers of those films make tortured comparisons to try and prove relevance to daily life, but the sad fact is that many people have become conditioned to not expect more, and perhaps not even have the patience to view a more substantive work.
Other reviewers insist that they aren't manipulated and that they have free choice. To an extent that is true, but one can easily argue that many people are making poor choices because they have been so deeply conditioned by advertisers. How can you justify spending 50K$ on a car, and replacing it when it is 3 years old when an inexpensive well-made car will fulfill the basic needs of transportation and may last 5-8 years instead? How can you justify spending money on bottled water when tap water in most areas is just fine? And how can you justify accumulating tens of thousands in consumer debt just to acquire all of this stuff? There are countless such examples all over the place.
And finally, there is the paradigm that runs deeply through our society that having more money and having more material goods will somehow make you happier. The problem is that these desires can never be satisfied - there is always something more, and there is always someone else who has more. In the end all of this materialism leaves people feeling empty, and the only tonic that they know to try and fill the void is to go out and shop some more.
On the other hand, if you can reach a point where you are content with what you have, you may find that many of the things that you do have are completely superfluous and can be donated to Goodwill or sold. Get rid of enough stuff, and that McMansion will seem empty, and a more modest and affordable house may meet your needs quite nicely.
Best Book I've Read in 5 Years.......2007-07-11
This is the best book I've read in 5 years. And I usually read 30 or so a year. It is the most challenging thing I've ever read. Throughout almost every sitting with the book, I would have to walk away and just sit to let it soak in. It was extremely cutting and exposing to me. And I dare say convicting. It's helped me to realize what a hyper-consumer I am and how childish I am in my tastes and entertainment. Even how childish I am in my spending. I never thought there would be a day when I felt like I needed to grow up and be a man, but this book helped me to entertain the possibility. The basic idea of the book focuses on the infantilization (dumbing down) of our society via the means of marketing and advertising. And the hyper-consumerism capitalism that we live with today. I couldn't recommend this book more highly. But I will give one disclaimer. It's 300+ pages of really small type. What makes it worse is that the author writes it like an academic paper. For example the first chapter which is only 35 pages long has 98 footnotes. It's just a really difficult read where reading 20 pages takes you an hour. So you'll either love the book or hate it. If you're a nerd, you might dig it. If you're not a nerd, you won't.
Try something else........2007-06-19
I confess, I didn't read the whole book. A friend gave it to me, and I parked it on the shelf after reading half and skimming the rest. Jeez-Louise! I'd hate to spend a week on an expedition cruise with this guy! He'd be the first one trying to feed the animals and then monopolizing the talk at dinner till everyone wanted to jump overboard. I didn't realize corporate America had captured everyone's free-will. The evil Bill Gates and Steve Jobs must be supressed along with Rupert Murdoch and the Walton family! I suggest reading Alexis-Charles-Henri Clérel de Tocqueville. He still rings true today. You'll sleep better at night. You want an entertaining picture of rampant consumption in America today, seen through the lens of 1840's when the all-corrupting market swallowed the entire continent of North America...and yes, is still swallowing it...There's a lot to eat out there, bunky! Read Heyday by Kurt Andersen. We may not be perfect but there must be some attraction if 12 million people will risk life and limb to get here one way or another. Mr. Barber and his book would probably be better fare in Venezuala or Cuba.
Book Description
Mankiw's Principles of Economics textbooks continue to be the most popular and widely used text in the economics classroom. PRINCIPLES OF MACROECONOMICS, 4th Edition features a strong revision of content in all 23 chapters while maintaining the clear and accessible writing style that is the hallmark of the highly respected author. The 4th edition also features an expanded instructor's resource package designed to assist instructors in course planning and classroom presentation and full integration of content with Aplia, the leading online Economics education program. In the 4th edition Greg Mankiw has created a full educational program for students and instructors -- Experience Mankiw 4e. "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.
Customer Reviews:
4th Edition is different!.......2007-06-10
I was sold a used copy of the third edition and was told it was identical to the fourth edition. It isnt. The fourth edition has added questions that my instructor is having us answer for the course requirements. This means I have to go back and buy another copy of the book, this time the right edition! Dont be fooled - buy the edition of the book recommended for the class!
Can't find a better deal than this! .......2007-06-08
I recieved my puchase on time, and the study guide has been extremely helpful. I would definately make another purchase from here!
$105?!? Are you kidding me?!?.......2007-04-01
I bought this for my college daughter for her macro class. $105 for a paperback? And in its fourth edition, which means that the author has added half a chapter and made used versions of older editions no longer viable for students trying to get by with high college costs.
Unforgivable price gouging.
Book Description
These two highly-respected authors have revised this best-selling book to include more current, modern subject matter and events, while maintaining those features that have contributed to its great success. It continues to use stories, graphs, and equations and a unified and logical organization that make economic concepts easy-to-understand and relevant to all readers. Users of this book see the connection between growth, trade, comparative advantage the production possibilities frontier. Recent changes in the economy are highlighted so that readers can understand how these events actually affect investment decisions and policy. The 90s boom and the recent bust are examined.
New issues such as the movements for and against globalization, trade agreements and barriers, the World Trade Organization, the enviroment, child labor, sovereignty, the impact of AIDs on developing economics are all explored in this new edition. This book continues to provide an excellent foundation in the scope and method of economics; demand, supply, and market equilibrium; measuring national output and national income; long-run and short-run concerns; aggregate expenditure and equilibrium output; the government and fiscal policy; the money supply and the Federal Reserve system; interest rates and output; inflation; the labor market and unemployment; macroeconomic issues and policy; the stock market and the economy; long-run growth; and open-economy macroeconomics.
An excellent reference resource for those involved in fiscal decision-making policies, whether in government or in large, international firms.
Customer Reviews:
ok.......2005-10-02
it was in good condition but should have been cheaper compared ot the condition
not a well writen book.......2004-07-08
The authors don't know how to explain the theories in a easier way, on the contrary, they try to confuse you as much as they can. They also have all sorts of stupid examples which have nothing to do with reality. They are theorists, not good writers!
There are also many mistakes in the book. not too professional.
If your university requires this book, you do not have a chooose, but it is not a good one.
Principles of Macroeconomics.......2003-06-25
The book was pretty much cleaner than I expected!! All the deals went very smoothly, and I really like purchasing through Amazon.com already! Thanks for all the good deal!
Review of Macroeconomics by Case/Fair.......2001-08-24
The authors provide an understandable presentation of the dynamics of demand/supply, the price structure, equilibrium and concepts of elasticity. The data employed is current & this version is supported by the publisher in various prior versions , as well as, this successive version. The work has considerable technological support in the form of the CD Rom and various instructional materials.The authors provide a useful "News Analysis" to integrate current events into the text. This is very useful in providing background information for students. The problem sets are topical and challenging. There is a considerable discussion of international economics and transitional economies. Overall, the text can satisfy a wide range of student interests. i.e. Those students having a quantitative orientation will appreciate the considerable graphs throughout the text. Students having a more visual learning experience will enjoy the various news items throughout the text & the extensive discussion of basic definitions. The chapter summaries and WEB exercises are helpful in integrating the material & applying the various concepts using current technologies. This text should be employed for intensive renditions of introductory economics at the collegiate level.There is an appropriate amount of microeconomic coverage in the Principles of Macroeconomics, as well as, the more comprehensive Principles of Economics work. After having read this book, students should have a firm grasp of economics and the various data employed by industry. In addition, students will become more knowledgable on current events applicable to studies in this field. This work would provide very helpful background for further studies in Price Analysis and Econometrics (Mathematical Economics).
excellent economics text for beginners.......1999-02-12
I am teaching an Economics class at the beginning college level at a private business college. This book is one of the better business textbooks I have encountered. It provides real-life and simplistic examples to help students understand complex issues. I recommend it.
C. Le Fevre
Book Description
O’Sullivan/Sheffrin makes use of Active Learning Tools which get readers involved in role-playing, help them apply concepts, and offer reinforcement of the material.
The books hallmark feature includes a focus on the 5 Key Principles of Economics: 1) Opportunity Cost, 2) The Marginal Principle (comparing marginal benefits and marginal costs), 3) Diminishing Returns, 4) The Spillover Principle (for externalities in production and consumption), and, 5) The Reality Principle (distinguishing real from nominal magnitudes).
For economists, financial analysts and other finance professionals.
Customer Reviews:
Macroeconomics: Principles and Tools.......2004-11-19
This easy-to-read, well-structured textbook is an excellent source of information for any economics student. I used this book for Principles of Macroeconomics, an online course I took over the summer. The book is simple yet gives sufficient detail on many topics to not only provide a broad overview, but it is able to go quite in depth. The authors provide the student with a great deal of tools to use and supply many activities, questions and methods to help relate concepts to the real world. This book is written much better than my Advanced Macroeconomics text and is much more student-friendly.
Not perfect, but pretty good.......2001-05-01
The book is by no means perfect, but it's a darn good book. Its major imperfection is that many important concepts are spread around and not specifically brought to the forefront alone. Otherwise, though, it allows for a great foundation in Macroeconomics for your GECO 200 or equivalent class.
Macroeconomics: Principles & Tools Review.......2000-03-31
This book gives a great overview of the study of economics. I used it for an Introduction to Global Economics class in college and found it to be easy to read and understand. The information is extremely up-to-date, and is displayed not only through text, but by charts and graphs as well. There also additional materials (practice test questions, a CD rom, and a guide to researching economics on the internet) which accompany the text which are available as well. Overall, a great book for the study of basic economics!
Book Description
In writing this textbook, Mankiw has tried to put himself in the position of someone seeing economics for the first time. The author's conversational writing style is superb for presenting the politics and science of economic theories to tomorrow's decision-makers. Because Mankiw wrote it for the students, the book stands out among all other principles texts by intriguing students to apply an economic way of thinking in their daily lives. Receiving such a praise as "perhaps the best ever" textbook in economic principles, it's no wonder Mankiw's prize project has quickly become one of the most successful books ever to be published in the college marketplace.
Customer Reviews:
it's "all that and a bag of chips".......2005-06-03
This is a demanding high school (or undemanding college) introductory textbook on the subject. Only the most rudimentary algebra is required, and honestly one could easily get through the book without even that.
The edition is handsomely printed, with a font that's easy on the eye and plenty of colorful and helpfully-glossed graphs. The chapters themselves are not too long, which helps with a student's morale, believe me.
Recently I was put into a situation where I had to go, in the space of about 4 months, from knowing jack-squat about economics to being able to teach college-level macroeconomics!
Well, I frantically collected a ton of textbooks and articles about macroeconomics, ranging from the elementary to the abstruse and got to work.
And I gotta say: when something befuddled me and I found myself threshing about from text to text for the best explanation, it was nearly always Mankiw who came through with the critical phrasing that made the idea click and got me saying: "Ohhhhhh! I get it!" most often.
Not that this was always the case. There were times when I found better explanations elsewhere (e.g., Chapter 19, on the foreign currency market, is exasperatingly elliptical and could use a major dummying-down), but more often than not, Mr. Mankiw had the goods: the clearest and most easy-to-follow way of wording or graphing a slippery or counter-intuitive concept.
Of course, it's easy to hate Mr. Mankiw: he's young, he's handsome, he's brilliant (one of the youngest full professors ever at Harvard), and he's rich (his textbooks are now standard in AP courses nationwide). Jerk!
Because of these reasons, I would love to trash his book, showing how it "ain't all that."
Well, it is. Gulp.
Only one note: If you're planning on getting this book to study macroeconomics independently, you will find one irritating drawback: there are exercises at the end of each chapter, but no answers in the back. Essentially, therefore, it's a book for schoolchildren, not mature learners.
But its explanations -- believe me -- can't be beat.
Simply put, the best economics textbook on the market.......2004-08-09
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:
-----------
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 (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), rather than just pushing 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.
Customer Reviews:
Worst book for starters.......2007-10-05
This is the required text book at Santa Clara University and I can't overemphasize how badly the book is written. The questions and problems are not directly related to the content in that chapter. He refers to pictures a few chapters back easily. The way the material is presented is just impossible to grasp. In some of the problems, he gives the value of a variable and asks a question about what is the value of that variable.
Possibly the Worst Textbook I've Ever Had.......2006-07-26
I used this book for my EC301 Intermediate MacroEconomics class at Park University. The instructor warned us that this is a challenging book, and that all of her past students struggled with it. I was only able to read and understand part of chapter one, the rest flew about 10 miles over my head. The instructor told us she had suggested a couple of other textbooks to the head of the Econ department at Park, but the head refused. (Makes you wonder what kind of a cash donation the head accepted to use this book, doesn't it?) Now our instructor has stated she will refuse to teach this class again if this textbook is the required text. I completely agree. This is not written for anyone but economists, which leaves all of us other majors out in the cold. I am a finance major, and found this book completely un-readable and uncomprehendable. I'm just glad the instructor offered extra credit options so I'll be able to pass this class with at least a B, if not an A.
Excellent Macreconomics Book for Undergraduates.......2005-11-29
I have found this book very helpful in achieving a solid grasp of different macroeconomic concepts. A very important quality that I should mention is how each chapter builds an important foundation for the following chapter. Macroeconomic models are elaborated in a way that the student could understand not only what they explain (predict), but also how they are derived. I strongly recommend this text for anyone who is interested in understanding the basics of macroeconomics.
This is not a good book for beginners........2004-04-18
This is the textbook required by my professor. When I read it, I just felt that the author wastes a lot of words on some very simple and straightforward points. But as to those very confusing concepts and complicated procedure about how the economy adjusts, he uses as few words as possible. For example, when talking about the adjustment of inflation expectation, the author doesn't explain why and how the new equilibrium point appears at point E2 in figure 8-2. And I think this is very important to understand the underlying theory. Also, there are many inconsistent points and some critical typos in this book.
Just fine.......2002-05-25
I gotta buy this book for my class. I have some troubles with the topics inside. I agree that this is a good book but I gotta read from other sources to get more details. The author didn't make clear in many points. However, he covered all of the important topics. If you have some economic background, it would be your wonderful book, but for me it's not.
Book Description
Do you want a book that provides an integrated view of macroeconomics?
Olivier Blanchard helps students to see the big macroeconomic picture by integrating one unifying model throughout the text.
Are you tired of macroeconomics texts that take too many shortcuts?
Olivier Blanchard gives thorough treatment to many concepts that other books just skim over
, with the understanding that students will use these tools throughout their academic and professional careers.
Do you want a book that allows the greatest degree of flexibility in learning and teaching macroeconomics?
Olivier Blanchard’s organization allows for the greatest degree flexibility
, so professors can direct their class as they see fit, and students can learn from a methodology that matches the goals of their course.
Customer Reviews:
very recommendable.......2007-09-17
If you are beginer or to know where to step your foots in Economics,
this book is highly recommendable.
Before read this book, I cannot fully understand articles of Economic Newspapers(like The Wall Street Jouranal).
The arthur, Oliver Blanchard, said the readers will read each section 1 or 1 hr and a half, however, I spent 5 or 6 hours.(but valuable)
And I had a very unusual experience with this book, when I reached page 446, there is about 12 lines of no-printing from the bottom of the page,
so I asked about the matter the branch of publisher in Korea,where I live, and sent the mail to the Publisher in U.S., But I have still no answer yet.
Finally I sent message to Amazon, then they solve the problem as possible as they can.
Thus, I appreciate the efforts of solving the matter in private.
And Suggest you to check each page, if you buy this book.
Lee.... from Seoul, Korea
Best Macroeconomics Text In The Market.......2006-04-22
This is simply the best Macroeconomics text out there. The book is easy enough to read for the layman, yet contains concepts hard enough for those who want to be challeneged. It also includes real world examples for those who want to understand the application of macroeconomics rather than just the theory.
The study guide should come with the book. (At least that is how I got it when I brought it new...). The study guide is very helpful as it contains excellent summaries of each chapter and questions following those reviews with answers in the back.
Neither the study guide or the book, however, contain answers to the text, so be prepared to work a little bit harder on those end-of-the-chapter questions ;)
the thresher.......2005-06-03
Olivier Blanchard's handsome hardbound "Macroeconomics" (3rd Ed.) is a challenging and unfriendly freshman-level macroeconomics text that does a solid but daunting job.
This third outing was published in 2003, meaning it incorporates the Bushian twin deficits, the euro, the Argentinean retrieval, the rise and fall of the Asian tigers, etc. So that's nice.
Note that if you're teaching an economics class for the non-major, this book is most definitely inappropriate. For this purpose I would recommend either Stephen Slavin's "Macroeconomics" (8th Ed.), or, if you require more rigor, Mankiw's "Principles of Macroeconomics" (3rd Ed.), both of which are much easier on the math.
Olivier's juggernaut is more appropriate as a freshman level text for finance or economics majors who are slated to do some heavy-duty number-crunching later in their college career.
It is certainly NOT an intermediate text in macroeconomics (i.e., a junior-level text that incorporates integration and differentiation), so it would most profitably deployed in a rigorous or honors-level freshman-level class (in fact this is the standard text used in freshman econ at MIT -- its author is this brilliant French dude who sometimes teaches freshman econ there).
So be not deceived: this book assumes intermediate algebra, trigonometry, and even some (non-calculus) statistics. There's also some nasty addition and multiplication!
Though there's nothing in it beyond what a high school graduate ought to know, it would help to be clear on its demands. Many freshman books I have thumbed through seem to require only beginning algebra, if that. Not here: algebra is woven into the fiber of this book like a fingernail to the flesh, and any student unskilled in the equational arts will have a rotten time of things.
One good thing about the book: it comes with a cool CD on which you can manipulate the graphs, chapter by chapter, in a fun and instructive (and time-killing) way.
One bad thing about the book: although there are review questions and problem sets at the end of every chapter, there are no answers anywhere in the book. Sheesh! Presumably, given the math level required and the merciless tone of the text, we are meant to see this as a book for adult learners, so why are we being treated like children? Is Mr. Blanchard afraid I'm gonna copy the answers?
undergrad macro text full of intuitions.......2004-07-13
Unlike the graduate textbook (Lectures on Macroeconomics), this undergraduate textbook is full of economic intuitions, comparable to microeconomic textbooks of Varian's.
Especially, if you have an interest in Macroeconometic practices (books such as Ray Fair's...), Blanchard's is much better than Mankiw's, I believe.
First edition contained the exciting (but short...) section on identification problem and differentiation between causality and correlation. Those issues are of much more importance than they look when you actually "do" something with the macroeconmic issues.
Good Intermediate Macro Book.......2004-07-01
This book is an appropriate tool for an intermediate macroeconomics course-guess where I used it! The "Core" of the book is broken up into three sections: the short run (IS/LM), the medium run (IS/LM-AD/AS), and long run (Solow). This is very helpful and provides a natural progression.
Blanchard does skim over some of the more basic stuff, especially, as somebody mentioned, with the IS/LM model. For this reason I think it is very appropriate for an intermediate course where somebody probably has already learned some of the fundamentals in an introductory course. Unfortunately I felt that the Solow model was not in the depth that I would like, especially with respect to mathematics.
On that note, the book doesn't use a high level of mathematics, but the equations are there, and your algebra should definitely be up to par. This also provides a nice transition to those looking to take an advanced micro or macro course, as things tend to involve more and more mathematics as one goes on.
Overall, a good book, lacking in a spot or two, but a good textbook overall.
Book Description
McConnell and Brue’s Macroeconomics: Principles, Problems, and Policies is the leading Principles of Macroeconomics textbook because it is innovative and teaches students in a clear, unbiased way. The 17th Edition builds upon the tradition of leadership by sticking to 3 main goals: help the beginning student master the principles essential for understanding the economizing problem, specific economic issues, and the policy alternatives; help the student understand and apply the economic perspective and reason accurately and objectively about economic matters; and promote a lasting student interest in economics and the economy.
Book Description
This macroeconomics text is well known for using the Keynesian model in the teaching of economics; yet in recent editions, the authors have expanded coverage of the growth model considerably to achieve more balanced coverage. The text uses the aggregate supply/ aggregate demand model as a fundamental tool for learning macroeconomics. It achieves the right level of rigor and detail, presenting complicated concepts in a relatively straightforward manner and using timely economic data. Using puzzles, issues, and well-developed examples, the authors provide a good balance of theory to application. Homework Xpress and Aplia are available with the Anniversary Tenth Edition and two new sets of end of chapter questions have been added as well to help students prepare for exams: ?Test Yourself? and ?Discussion Questions?.
Customer Reviews:
Get Economics by Baumol........2006-07-22
Economics by Baumol covers both micro and macro. Get that book, and you don't have to buy two books. Hint.
Customer Reviews:
examples.......2005-10-10
This book does cover all the important topics clearly. Unfortunately, the examples used in the book are 'corny' and distract from the important concepts leading to unneeded text and dreadful thoughts of 'The clip joint' and 'the solar powered cookie oven'. The grammar used in this book is a bit strange; don't, won't, etc appear frequently. This is somewhat odd as bernake was a former Fed governor and abel is also distinguised. I think that, perhaps, the authors attempted to 'dumb down' the book and in the process managed to merely make it corny. I also am a bit appalled at the amount of space given to math - it seems the authors wanted it to be more 'accessible'.
I will agree that the 'real world' examples are both pertinent and informative. They were chosen very well. The footnotes are also welcome as the authors frequently simplify models.
This book could use some trimming and perhaps less talk about dog groomers and the like. If that were to happen this would be one of the best macro books out there.
Anyone want to bet on Dr B becoming Fed Chair? Actually he had no input due to his Fed Governor position.
Excellent textbook.......2005-09-21
This is an excellent textbook as a forerunner to more difficult books such as Branson.It deals with each of the major issues clearly and competently. The text boxes are excellent case studies.
the best.......2004-11-30
the best economics book i've had so far. IT's easy to understand but filled with TONS of great information. IT all makes sense with the historical examples and also has insight on the future. A must read!
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