Book Description

This book is a calculus-based microeconomic theory text for undergraduates and graduates that successfully balances theoretical/intuitive (verbal), graphical (visual), and mathematical presentation in order to appeal to various learning styles. The text combines theory and applications more completely than most offerings in this course area, and bridges the gap between low-level texts that relegate math to footnotes and upper-level texts that focus only on math at the expense of theory and applications. ... Read more

Book Description

This newly updated edition of a highly regarded the principles of microeconomics text provides your students with the most up-to-date information available.Cases, tables, data, and more were updated to reflect 2003 data. The text also has a four-color internal and full supplement package that complements the text?s superb conversational style, which engages students like none other. Principles of Microeconomics, 4e represents the results Fred Gottheil?s career as an outstanding professor and author.This edition is maintains the proven structure and style of previous editions while updating content to make it even more valuable to professors and students alike. The author continues to use familiar stories, illustrations, scenarios, and a direct-to-student writing style to appeal to students' interests. The narrative is built around questions, which cut the distance between the student and the unfamiliar concepts of economics. Instead of covering hundreds of topics superficially, the book presents basic concepts in depth and develops economic analysis step-by-step. The result?learning economics becomes relative, interactive and appealing versus mere passive course participation. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Econ Profs, Start Here First
This is one of 2 books I kept from my four years in college.It is also the book that helped me choose Economics as one of my minors.It's that good.

Gottheil's models (actually, he really only uses one model--a fishery) are almost absurdly easy to follow.Along the way he takes concepts a student would find new and difficult, and makes them into concepts a student can follow, and in my case, enjoy.I whole heartedly reccomend this title.

Principles of Microeconomics by Gottheil = SIMPLICITY
I have now had two course in economics - Principles of Micro. and Macro., both classes required the use of the priciples books by Fred Gottheil.My professor was a student of Mr. Gottheil and described his classes as clarifying.She said that he made economics easy to understand.This book by Gottheil, as his class, is also easy to comprehend.The topics are confusing to a newcomer of economics but the style and clarification used makes the principles quite simple.

Easy to Understand Economics??
You're absolutely correct!!I was a student of Prof. Gottheil the first year he released this book.The teachings of the book make Micro-Economics both easy to understand and enjoyable.I've recommended this book to both undergrads and MBA students alike, and have not received a single complaints (but have received much praise). ... Read more

Amazon.com

Risk, according to James Grant, is our enemy. The current, seemingly endless run-up of the stock market is bound to crash around our ears at some point, sooner rather than later. The flood of cash that is lifting the current consumer economy stems from imprudent credit decisions by banks and, by extension, by the largest bank of all, the Federal Reserve. The flight of capital from bonds into mutual funds is only the most visible symbol of an America that has lost sight of fundamental economic forces. And so on. The writer and publisher of Grant's Interest Rate Observer, Grant is a born contrarian, directing investors into commodities markets, which have been flat for 15 years, and away from the booming stock market. You can disagree with his prognosis, but it's hard to argue with his diagnosis. The boom of the 1990s can't last forever. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Superb financial history by a witty writer.
For an extensive and mostly favorable review of Mr. Grant's, The Trouble with Prosperity, by an economist that shares Mr. Grants's sympathies with the Austrian school of econoimics go to the following URL:

Grant again shows mastery of market history
Mr. Grant's book is good and again he demonstrates great knowledge of the history of financial markets. His writing can be a little bit dry at times, making it sometimes difficult to follow the thread of argument in each chapter. Grant gives a compelling case that the cyclical nature of booms and busts isn't over and suggests several times that these cycles are really beneficial to a country's economic health. He suggests that efforts by governments (notably the Japanese) to suppress the effects of natural market cycles inevitably lead to disaster. I think, however, his thesis is undercut by his own research that suggests that moderate economic expansions yield only moderate economic contractions. Several times he suggests that we should strive for stronger expansions, thereby ultimately leading to more severe contractions, but never really provides a compelling case as to why. In other words, Grant does not present persuasive reasons as to why moderate economic cylces are inferior. In any event, this is another first rate book by Grant. I strongly recommend it for those people who think markets (and economies) only go UP ... Read more

Book Description

The book aims to introduce the reader to DEA in the most accessible manner possible. It is specifically aimed at those who have had no prior exposure to DEA and wish to learn its essentials, how it works, its key uses, and the mechanics of using it. The latter will include using DEA software. Students on degree or training courses will find the book especially helpful. The same is true of practitioners engaging in comparative efficiency assessments and performance management within their organisation. Examples are used throughout the book to help the reader consolidate the concepts covered. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Lucid essays on transaction costs and social welfare
This little book is a fantastic introduction to some of the powerful ideas introduced by Coase. Coase initiated two different ideas that today govern or inform much of the work of economists. The first was his introduction of the idea of "transaction costs", from an article suggesting an investigation into the root causes for industrial organization. The second is now known as the Coase Theorem, and stems from his insightful refutation of the Pigouvian view of social cost. There is also an article investigating the actual history of lighthouses in England, something which has usually been cited as a pure public good, and therefore requiring government provision. The history shows that most lighthouses - in some periods, all lighthouses - were privately provided. Coase's writing is lucid, his ideas profound, and his influence widespread. This collection is very important to anyone wanting to understand externalities, transaction costs, and social welfare.

Brilliant insight
Ronald Coase, though not an economist, in this book develops the rationale for the existence of firms (the reduction of transactions costs), an insight that has revolutionized the field of microeconomics since its publication (the original essay was published in the 1930s). He also touches on arguments related to monopolies (and when they should and should not be curbed by regulation). Despite the deep implications, it is written in an easily readable format.

Some of the most important ideas in economics
This collection of seven of economist Ronald Coase's essays provides important understanding of the workings of market economies, the boundary between private and public, and what determines the size and structure of a firm. Coase distinguished his work from other economists by focusing on the role of transaction costs-now a common theme in discussions of the new economy. If you read only one of the chapters, it should be "The Nature of the Firm". Here Coase provides the intellectual foundations for strategic thinking about business architectures, mergers and acquisitions, outsourcing, and collaborative commerce. Some of this work was later elaborated on by Oliver Williamson (see his 1985 book, The Economic Institutions of Capitalism.) Like Joseph Schumpeter, Ronald Coase is an economist whose works from decades ago are now more relevant than ever. While Schumpeter's phrase "creative destruction" may be more memorable, in the end it is Coase's views on transaction costs and the nature of the firm that may be the more significant (and certainly more readable).

The Authoritative Book on Transaction Cost Economics
(This review was posted earlier, but somehow my names was removed from it. Please put it back or allow this re-post of the review. Thanks!)

This book consists of Nobel Prize winner Ronald Coases classic articles where the 1937 "Nature of the Firm" and The 1960 "The Problem of Social Cost" stands out.

This is *the* book to own on the subject as Coase takes his time to explain some of the reasons why economists in general has misunderstood his argument.

It is also well worth reading if you like Oliver Williamson's elaborations on the subject as a reading of Coases original articles reveals much of Williamsons work as just that. If you haven't read Williamson's 1985 The Economic Institutions of Capitalism book I recommend it highly *after* you've read this.

Classic works collected, and explained
Ronald Coase is a Nobel Prize-winning economist, whose work is probably cited more often by lawyers than by economists. "The Firm, The Market, and the Law" is principally a collection of his seminal scholarship, although it does contain some useful new material. The opening chapter is new and shows how a consistent theory of firms and markets, as well as a unique conception of economics and economically-oriented scholarship, runs through Coase's work from the 1930s to the late 1980s (when the book was published).

Coase is best known for two seminal articles. The earlier article "The Theory of the Firm" is the seminal work on the so-called nexus of contracts theory of the firm, as well as an early source for the transaction cost branch of the New Institutional Economics. The nexus of contracts model treats the firm not as an entity, but as an aggregate of various inputs acting together to produce goods or services. Employees provide labor. Creditors provide debt capital. Shareholders initially provide equity capital and subsequently bear the risk of losses and monitor the performance of management. Management monitors the performance of employees and coordinates the activities of all the firm's inputs. The firm is simply a legal fiction representing the complex set of contractual relationships between these inputs. Besides emphasizing the importance of examining the various contracts making up the firm, however, Coase's fundamental insight was that the contractual nature of the firm does not preclude an element of command and control absent from market transactions. If a corporate employee moves from department Y to department X he does so not because of change in relative prices, but because he is ordered to do so. In other words, markets allocate resources via the price mechanism but firms allocate resources via authoritative direction. The set of contracts making up the firm consists in very large measure of implicit agreements, which by definition are both incomplete and unenforceable. Under conditions of uncertainty and complexity, the firm's many constituencies cannot execute a complete contract, so that many decisions must be left for later contractual rewrites imposed by fiat. It is precisely the unenforceability of implicit corporate contracts that makes it possible for the central decisionmaker to rewrite them more-or-less freely. The parties to the corporate contract presumably accept this consequence of relying on implicit contracts because the resulting reduction in transaction costs benefits them all.

Even better known, and even more central to transaction cost economics, however, is Coase's later article "The Problem of Social Cost," which also is reprinted in full here. In that article, Coase laid a critical foundation of modern law and economics - the so-called Coase theorem. The Coase theorem has been formulated in various ways, but one useful statement might be that: "When the parties can bargain successfully, the initial allocation of legal rights does not matter." Suppose a steam locomotive drives by a field of wheat. Sparks from the engine set crops on fire. Should the railroad company be liable? In a world of zero transaction costs, the initial assignment of rights is irrelevant. If the legal rule we choose is inefficient, the parties can bargain around it. Put another way, according to the Coase theorem, rights will be acquired by those who value them most highly, which creates an incentive to discover and implement transaction cost minimizing governance forms.

The Coase theorem has been widely criticized. The second major set of new material in this book is a chapter entitled "Notes on the Problem of Social Cost," in which Coase answers the more serious criticisms. That essay provides a useful intellectual history of the Coase theorem, as well as a trenchant defense of its main claims. One of the less-well informed criticisms of Coase is that he assumes transaction costs are zero. He does not, as this new essay makes clear. Indeed, as Coase points out, the interesting cases are those in which transactions costs are non-zero. In a world of positive transaction costs, however, the parties may not be able to bargain. This is likely to be true in our example. The railroad travels past the property of many landowners, who put their property to differing uses and put differing values on those uses. Negotiating an optimal solution will all of those owners would be, at best, time consuming and onerous. Hence, the allocation of legal rights becomes quite important. ... Read more

Book Description

McConnell-Brue’s Principles of Microeconomics, 15 is the best-selling textbook and has been teaching students in a clear, unbiased way for 40 years. The 14th edition grew market share because of its clear and careful treatment of principles of microeconomics concepts, its balanced coverage, and its patient explanations.More students have learned their principles of Microeconomics from McConnell-Brue than any other text-12 million of them.The 15th edition is a substantial revision that delivers a tighter, modern, Internet-savvy book. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

I love this textbook!
Microeconomics by McConnell and Brue is a great text book. The explanation is very clear. I especially like the way they explain the graphs and concepts. It's very easy to understand. They give very good examples in each chapter. I use it for my class and I found the reading is very enjoyable. This textbook is definitely good for people who want to do self-study of microeconomics.

This is not the textbook.
We thought we had ordered the textbook, Microeconomics: Principles, Problems, and Policies by McConnell and Brue. This book however is Selected Material from Microeconomics. The Table of Contents is the same as the textbook, so this is really confusing. Be sure you get what you want. ... Read more

Reviews (14)

Disappointed
I am a Finance Ph.D. student and I bought this textbook for my Micro class, and I found that this book did a very poor job in explaining the Micro concepts to a student like me with solid math background but little micro one. The authors, for some reason, use a more than difficult language to explain even the simple things. I believe that great teacher is the one who can explain even the most complicated concepts in simple way. Obviously I do not put Jehle- Reny in this teacher category. If you want to get a simple yet meaningful concept explanation, check out Walter Nicholson's book. I highly recommend that book for the introduction to Micro.

If you want to buy a Micro textbook, do not take these people's feedbacks instantly. Chances are WE ALL ARE DIFFERENT that we have different opinions, so compare the books and decide for yourself !
Happy hunting !

I wish I knew about this book before grad micro...
The assigned text in my graduate micro theory class was Mas-Collel/Whinston/Green (MWG), a book that I couldn't wait to get rid of. However, I have a much better appreciation of MWG after having read Jehle and Reny (JR). JR is strong where MWG is weak and vice versa. JR provides a clear, self-contained introduction to key concepts in advanced micromicroeconomic theory but is not comprehensive in its coverage. MWG on the other hand is more terse and requires a greater level of math preparation, but is truly the encyclopedia of micro. Regarding the comments of the disappointed reader from Cambridge MA, it's true that there are not many applications in J&R, but that's not really the point of this book. As the title indicates, this is a theory book. Nicolson's or even Varian's intermediate texts are good places to look for applications. But for grad micro theory, I would recommend reading both JR and MWG, in that order.

Dont buy this crap!!!
Dont buy this...! It is EXTREMLY hard to follow, unless you have a math background. The notations are very confusing. It explains concepts mathematically and you are expected to come up with the logic on your own. In my Graduate level class of 20 studing advanced micro, EVERY SINGLE PERSON said they are clueless about what it says. The text is so highlevel to understand. I had to read the very first chapter FIVE times to understand what is says and then I realised that it was explaining something I already know from Intermediate Micro, that indiferrence curves are convex to the origin!

So, I would recommend you buy this excellent book "Microeconomic Analysis" by Hal R. Varian or "Microeconomic Theory" by Andreu Mas-Colell, Michael D. Whinston, Jerry R. Green (which costs only a fraction of the cost of this junk...). So, dont waste your time and money of this ...

You never dissappointed
I am so regretful of knowing this book late.
This book gave me another interest in economic analysis with clear insight, which surely is the foundation of other applications.
I recommend it to you in eagerness to develop analytical mind. Don't miss it this time.

Must Buy It
This is a very good Advanced Microeconomic textbook for graduate stidents. I love its math appendix because it helps me review the useful math tools for the advanced microeconomics. It describes the microeconomic theories much cleraer than other textbooks. You must buy it if you are taking the advanced microeconomic course. ... Read more

Book Description

Interest in intellectual property and other institutions that promote innovation exploded during the 1990s. Innovation and Incentives provides a clear and wide-ranging introduction to the economics of innovation, suitable for teaching at both the advanced undergraduate and graduate levels. It will also be useful to legal and economics professionals. Written by an expert on intellectual property and industrial organization, the book achieves a balanced mix of institutional details, examples, and theory. Analytical, empirical, or institutional factors can be given different emphases at different levels of study.

Innovation and Incentives presents the historical, legal, and institutional contexts in which innovation takes place. After a historical overview of the institutions that support innovation, ranging from ancient history through today's government funding and hybrid institutions, the book discusses knowledge as a public good, the economic design of intellectual property, different models of cumulative innovation, the relation of competition to licensing and joint ventures, patent and copyright enforcement and litigation, private/public funding relationships, patent values and the return on R&D investment, intellectual property issues arising from direct and indirect network externalities, and globalization. The text presents technical and abstract analysis and at the same time sheds light on current controversies and policy-relevant topics, including the difficulty of enforcing copyright in the digital age and international protection of intellectual property. ... Read more

Book Description

In this novel introduction to modern microeconomic theory, Samuel Bowles returns to the classical economists' interest in the wealth and poverty of nations and people, the workings of the institutions of capitalist economies, and the coevolution of individual preferences and the structures of markets, firms, and other institutions. Using recent advances in evolutionary game theory, contract theory, behavioral experiments, and the modeling of dynamic processes, he develops a theory of how economic institutions shape individual behavior, and how institutions evolve due to individual actions, technological change, and chance events. Topics addressed include institutional innovation, social preferences, nonmarket social interactions, social capital, equilibrium unemployment, credit constraints, economic power, generalized increasing returns, disequilibrium outcomes, and path dependency.

Each chapter is introduced by empirical puzzles or historical episodes illuminated by the modeling that follows, and the book closes with sets of problems to be solved by readers seeking to improve their mathematical modeling skills. Complementing standard mathematical analysis are agent-based computer simulations of complex evolving systems that are available online so that readers can experiment with the models. Bowles concludes with the time-honored challenge of "getting the rules right," providing an evaluation of markets, states, and communities as contrasting and yet sometimes synergistic structures of governance. Must reading for students and scholars not only in economics but across the behavioral sciences, this engagingly written and compelling exposition of the new microeconomics moves the field beyond the conventional models of prices and markets toward a more accurate and policy-relevant portrayal of human social behavior.

... Read more

Book Description

The learn-by-doing approach of this powerful study guide helps students master one of the most difficult courses required in most colleges and universities--traditionally one of the most important courses in all economics and business curricula. Every chapter fully illustrates theories, principles or backgrand information and includes multiple-choice review questions with answers.

Reviews (2)

Microeconomic Theory (3rd Edition)
This book is an intermediate microeconomics book intended primarily for undergraduate, upper division students. However, those not attending college can also benefit from this book by using it for independent study or reference material. There are no major prerequisites other than some knowledge of basic economics. For those who have a calculus background, the author does include one to three solved problems at the end of the majority of the chapters which are clearly marked.

Of the 14 chapters that make up this book, one is an added chapter and three are optional chapters. The added chapter introduces such topics as the Lerner and Herfindahl indexes which deal with measuring monopoly power, peak-load and cost-plus pricing, and game theory. Some of the concepts presented in the three optional chapters are: the Hicksian and Slutsky substitution effects of a price change, deriving indifference curves from inferred consumers' preferences, price index numbers, utility theory under uncertainity, the Cobb-Douglas production function, linear programming, and general equilibrium and welfare economics.

A weakness of this book concerns how some of the concepts are presented. In other words, the author introduces some new ideas at the end of some of the chapters in the "problems" section rather than in the main text. However, overall, I think this book provides valuable information that can benefit many people, even those who have a minimal economics background. The author presents a reasonably clear explanation of the subject matter covered which includes providing a glossary at the end of each chapter.

very useful tool for intermediate or 400 level micro
Whether you need to use this to get through ECON 300 or a more advanced econ class this is a very useful how-to guide. There is little discussion of theory and no yakking -- just straightforward microeconomic problems and parables. Use it for review or to get you through your final exam. Very helpful and much clearer than your textbook. ... Read more

Book Description

Although there are hundreds of books about MATLAB, there are no books that fully explore its value in the field of business economics. Few books describe how geographic information can be explicitly incorporated in business decisions, or explain how sophisticated MATLAB applications can be provided to users via the Internet using a remote-hosted, thin client environment.Business, Economics and Finance with MATLAB, GIS and Simulation Models responds by providing a unique overview of sophisticated business and financial applications. This book describes models that have been developed for facing the challenges of finance, retail sales, taxes, location, economic impact, public policy, and other issues that executives, investors, and economists confront on a daily basis. It also offers groundbreaking insight into the many calculation and modeling tools that can be remotely hosted and run over the Internet, resulting in substantial user benefits and cost savings. Many techniques and models directly incorporate geographic information and GIS into the analysis in a way that was impossible until quite recently. Some techniques, such as fuzzy logic, retail sales, and Simulink economic impact models are described for the first time in print in this book.By following this blueprint, you will be able to direct tremendously higher amount of computational power toward the challenges that confront your business. ... Read more

Book Description

Microeconomics, Fifth Edition, has been streamlined to make teaching easier—while incorporating the latest economic statistics and continued coverage of global issues. Focusing on international topics, Boyes and Melvin address comparative advantage and gains from trade in Chapter 2 before turning to a detailed exploration of demand and supply, as well as product and resource markets.

Book Description

Gain the knowledge and skills that can help you exploit instability. Forecasting Financial and Economic Cycles No book can help you construct foolproof forecasting systems that will ensure you’ll accurately predict economic turning points every time. But with Niemira and Klein’s Forecasting Financial and Economic Cycles on hand, you’ll be able to significantly strengthen your ability to measure, monitor, and forecast important fluctuations. Part history, it provides you with essential background material on the characteristics and causes of economic volatility. It offers accessible coverage of the classical business cycle, the five basic types of economic cycles as determined by leading economists, and evolving ideas on the forces driving instability—ranging from simple unicausal theories, more complex Keynesian theory, to new classical macroeconomics. In addition, its concise review of America’s economic past highlights the lessons that can be learned from the various cycles experienced since shortly before World War II. Part handbook, Forecasting Financial and Economic Cycles presents the full spectrum of statistical techniques used to measure cycles, trends, seasonal patterns, and other vital changes, offering you step-by-step guidance on applying a specific method and detailing its uses and limitations. It goes on to show how you can adapt particular techniques to assess, track, and predict:

• Industry cycles—including an objective, tailor-made forecasting tool
• Regional business cycles—including a survey of regional indicators
• International business cycles—with an international business cycle chronology
• Inflation cycles—plus "12 little-known facts" about this complex cycle
• Financial cycles—covering credit, monetary, and interest rate cycles
• Stock market cycles—with advice on achieving more disciplined trading

Book Description

A systematic treatment of the economics of the modern firm, this book draws on the insights of a variety of areas in modern economics and other disciplines, but presents a coherent, consistent, innovative treatment of the central problems in organizations of motivating people and coordinating their activities. KEY TOPICS: Introduces the fundamental problems organizations encounter and explains why they occur. Discusses a number of patterns of response — showing why organizations are structured as they are, why they adopt the policies they do, and how they solve organizational problems themselves. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A textbook on the firm.
This book is probably the first textbook on economics of organization. Since published in 1992, it has been widely used in classes. The main framework of the book lies in the conception of the firm as a system of incentive/coordination to allocate efficiently resources. So this book is an extension of neoclassical approach to the area of organization, though such concepts like bounded rationality and transaction cost are incorporated deeply into the architecture of the book. Unlike usual textbooks, this book has the overarching coherence with theoretical depth over various subjects like centralized/decentralized organization, moral hazard, rent, ownership, human resource management, investment, corporate governance. Such consistency is possible for its theoretical position: neoclassical approach. In that stance, the actor is motivated in its rational calculation, in other word incentive, although it¡¯s bounded in terms of information. How to organize such actor into an organization is the problem of coordination in the theory of the firm. Such an approach was widely adopted in the 1980s. But these days, resources/capabilities approach and evolutionary economics dominate the discourse on the firm. Capabilities, resources, dynamic capabilities, organizational learning, routine, tacit knowledge, knowledge creation, those are buzzwords to date. If you are to be specialized in the theory of the firm, this book should be read. But if not, I recommend Besanko, Dranove, and Shanley¡¯s ¡®Economics of Strategy¡¯. It takes trendy approach and that, it explains each subject with live examples from business world.

Possibly the best applied economics text ever.
Bluntly, this is the best university text in economics written in the 1990s. This may also be the best university text in useful economics ever written. You will learn a great deal about getting incentives right, about corporate governance, and about the labor market for managers. Its only flaw is that it overlooks the fact that the tools it teaches, and the arguments it lays out, can be used to formulate a powerful critique of government as well as of the modern corporation. ... Read more

Book Description

This modern, Micro first book has a strong foundation in demand and supply. Its thoughtful coverage of change in demand vs. change in quantity demanded (also in supply coverage) enables readers to better visualize and truly understand the difference between these 2 fundamental concepts. Its 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.

Reviews (3)

Manageable and informative!
The second edition of Economics: Principles and Tools by O'Sullivan/Sheffrin provides a good introduction to both macro and microeconomics. This was especially true for me since my math skills aren't up to par. It was manageable and understandable for those who don't do well with numbers. The CD was helpful in understanding the graphs that were involved in textbook. In addition to providing an introduction to economics, it does a good job of helping you understand how you can use economics in your everyday life. Especially in chapter two where they introduce five economic principles you will reuse throughout your economic course and in your daily life: (1) principle of opportunity cost, (2) marginal principle, (3) principle of diminishing returns, (4) spillover principle, (5) reality principle. Economics: Principles and Tools is an excellent resource and textbook for anyone who has a limited knowledge of economics and is willing to learn these five economic principles.

A Review of O'Sullivan/Sheffrin
Lacking is ease of use.Chapter 8 (critical chapter) especially dense.Did not like.

Not to bad
This book was very easy to read, it can be classified as an intro to Econ.It is used in the 201 class at UTK.It is however not that great when it comes to examples. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

A masterpiece
This book is a masterpiece. In practice, it deserves to become the "Holy Bible" of Microeconometrics applied to (but not only to) Development Economics. It is beautifully written by an amazingly knowledgeble economist, who has actually worked for years (and still does) on most of the issues this book deals with. It is no easy reading, and it would be worth spending a day for every single page, but it's excellent even if you don't want to go through the details, and you just need an intuition about the issues covered. The first chapter introduces the reader to many important aspects of the contruction and use of household surveys. The second chapter masterfully reviews many concepts of applied econometrics. Chapter 3 is about poverty and inequality measurement. Chapter 4 is about "Nutrition, children, and intrahousehold allocation", Chapter 5 deals with prices and tax reforms, and Chapter 6 with saving and consumption smoothing. The book also contains many useful Stata codes the author wrote and used for his many papers. Again, this is not a trivial reading, but if you are interested in applied economics you will find reading this book extremely rewarding, and often almost entertaining, because Deaton is one of the very few economists around able to write about technical stuff in a brilliant and intuitive way.

Misadventure
It is a great book, and I would have not canceled the order if you would have shipped as your website said it would.

A masterpiece
This book is a masterpiece. In practice, it deserves to become the "Holy Bible" of Microeconometrics applied to (but not only to) Development Economics. It is beautifully written by an amazingly knowledgeble economist, who has actually worked for years (and still does) on most of the issues this book deals with. It is no easy reading, and it would be worth spending a day for every single page, but it's excellent even if you don't want to go through the details, and you just need an intuition about the issues covered. The first chapter introduces the reader to many important aspects of the contruction and use of household surveys. The second chapter masterfully reviews many concepts of applied econometrics. Chapter 3 is about poverty and inequality measurement. Chapter 4 is about "Nutrition, children, and intrahousehold allocation", Chapter 5 deals with prices and tax reforms, and Chapter 6 with saving and consumption smoothing. The book also contains many useful Stata codes the author wrote and used for his many papers. Again, this is not a trivial reading, but if you are interested in applied economics you will find reading this book extremely rewarding, and often almost entertaining, because Deaton is one of the very few economists around able to write about technical stuff in a brilliant and intuitive way.

Deaton is the man !
This is an excelent manual for anyone interested in studying consumption or welfare in developing countries. Profesor Deaton is certainly one of the experts in the field. His book is well written and flows easily from theory to practice. Really enjoy it ! ... Read more

Book Description

The fast and user-friendly way to better prepare for *AP economics exams for college credit, this useful book is comprised of test preparation materials for both the AP Microeconomics and AP Macroeconomics tests. CliffsAP Economics Micro & Macro helps all levels of test-takers achieve more successful results on the micro or macro AP economics test, or both tests.

*Advanced Placement Program and AP are registered trademarks of the College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse this product. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (5)

Politics through an economist's lens
In this landmark work, Buchanan and Tullock work through the basic principles of public choice theory. They reject the political scientists' conception of the political process in which policy decisions are viewed as a private interest vs. public interest struggle. They replace that with a theory that the public interest is simply the aggregation of private decision makers. They further point out that in the political science view, the "public interest" is always the correct choice with the same appeal to all voters, which may or may not be thwarted by "special interests", when in fact most choices appeal to many different "law consumers" with different strengths.
That is to say, given a choice to fund road improvements or not, some voters will have very strong feelings for, some strong feelings against, but many voters may not have strong feelings either way. In a market transaction, the voters strongly desiring the road could purchase the acceptance of the opposition and uninterested voters with concessions, resulting in an efficient allocation of resources (everyone is happy). The analog to this in the political realm is that politicians buy the votes of other politicians by promising to vote for their issues. Thus, in the Buchanan/Tullock view, such log-rolling is to be expected, while in the traditional political science view, it is anomalous. Their model explains things that the standard view of politics previously could not.

They also make distinctions between constitutional rules and voting made in the context of existing constitutional rules. As part of the constitution making process, they point out that the traditional political science approach views simple majority voting as the standard, and question why unanimity is not. There is a tradeoff to be considered: a unanimity-based system results in no external costs, but considerable decision-making costs, whereas a simple majority-based system imposes some of both. They conclude that many more decisions should be made on at least a super-majority system, especially those decisions that potentially impose significant external costs.

The biggest problem I had with this book is that the prose is somewhat dense, though not as bad as Ricardo. They tend to write almost exclusively in the passive tense. One description I have seen of this work is that it essentially applies the science of economics to the ideas described in Federalist X. It would be nice to see an update of the contents in a more user-friendly style; their ideas would find a much broader audience and a better understanding of Madison's thesis on majority rule and the "violence of faction".

A genuine, celebrated classic
Some reviewers comment that this book has "a conservative bias." Nothing could be further from the truth. This book is written in the great classical-liberal tradition that motivated the American revolution and the drafting of America's 1787 Constitution. Buchanan and Tullock saw themselves as putting into modern economic language the insights and wisdom of James Madison and Co. The book does indeed counsel skepticism of big government, and it is no great fan of unlimited democracy. But the authors come to this position because they understand that even democratic governments can be tyrannical and that a depoliticized society -- governed largely by private property rights -- promises peace, prosperity, and cultural flourishing. Few books on economics are as original and insightful as is The Calculus of Consent -- and it remains as fresh in 1999 as it was when first published in 1962.

A landmark in analysis of government and its problems
This is probably one of the most rewarding books anyone can read. If you care about government and what it does (or doesn't) do to (or for) you, read this book. It requires patience and concentration, but it's well worth the effort. The authors succeed in showing how it is wrong to assume that government has always the best of intentions. They put a human face on politics and explain with impressive reasoning why government and politics produce unreasonable outcomes. The explanatory power of this book is unmatched. Anyone who cares about what this country is and what it could be should read it. Despite what you may have heard, their agenda is not conservative, it is individualistic, treating each person with dignity. The outcomes may surprise you, but you can't help but be moved by the force of their logic.

Foundation of conservative ideology,but is that a good thing
The authors claim to be 'scientific', 'rational', 'empirical', 'economic' in their assessment of the public decision making process and the role of public choice, but there are clearly several normative value judgements embedded in their framework. In discussing their choice of optimal rules, the authors state that an assumption of their model is that all votes are considered equal, and that if this assumption is not valid then there model will fail to function properly. They continue in stating that this is not a very large constraint as one vote is only one vote whether or not the individual uses it or cares about it or not. However, a hundred pages later, the author's apply their model to representational democracy, an area where a very compelling argument can be made that all votes are not equal, yet they fail to address this fairly basic flaw in their thinking, or how it effects the functioning of their model. The authors also repeatedly give the same importance to the protection of property that they do to the protection of liberty, another normative assumption that influences their model, as they seem to egg the reader on in thinking that greater decision costs can be tolerated if the stake is Liberty and property. This piggy-backing of the property rights of the wealthy on the civil rights of the working class seems pretty disingenuous as the end result of this piggy-backing is that the workers get screwed while the rich are free to get richer. However the weakest aspect of the text from an 'empirical' perspective, is that the authors leave their definition of costs largely undefined. In other words they can, and indeed do, shift the 'contract locus' at will to ensure that a conservative ideology will prevail no matter the given situation. That the authors oppose the enlargement of government is clear, as is the fact they justify this position by advocating what they call personal liberty, which is in reality the protection of the private property of the few. Those may or may not be convincing arguments depending on the readers own perspective (and pocketbook). However, the authors do not claim to be offering a perspective. They are offering a 'calculus of consent', a scientific method by which to divine our political choices free of the nasty constraints of opinion and values. Put it this way, as passionate intellectual forefathers of slippery right wing rationalizations for greed and inequality, these authors score major points, as dispassionate scientists merely describing the way 'things are' they are merely majorly hilarious.

Strong Quality of Thought, Conservative Bias Hard to Swallow
The Calculus of consent attempts to answer two questions through the locus of an economic decision model; what should be a public decision, and how are these decisions made. The authors answer these questions with a simple but surprisingly powerful model. They discuss all possible actions in terms of costs. Only actions whose costs are minimized through collective provision should be considered to be handled in the public sector. Once a service is determined to be 'cost-minimized' through collective provision, decision rules must be established to determine what proportion of individuals need to agree in order to take public action. These decision rules are based on two types of costs, external costs - or the costs others could impose on an individual's liberty and property if group action is taken, and decision costs - the costs of putting together a decision making coalition. The closer to unanimous approval the lower the risks of high external costs, but the less number of people needed to make a decision, the lower the decision costs. Buchanan and Tullock argue that the proportion of the population's approval needed to make a public decision is at the number of people where the combined decision and external costs are minimized.

This model in itself is robust, however in application, it is clear that Buchanan and Tullock would prefer to error on the side of minimizing what they call threats to 'liberty and property'. Therefore, they forward a strongly conservative agenda in which a small propertied minority can, in this axiom legitimately, block the collectivization of activities which a majority of the population supports. ... Read more

Book Description

Managerial Economics develops simple, practical tools and concepts for business students as well as practicing managers. Presenting the essentials of managerial economics in an accessible style, this book uniquely integrates the discipline to other managerial functions -- including accounting, finance, human resource management, and marketing. Managerial Economics teaches students how to make better business decisions, not how to build models.

Each chapter is centered around a real world business case study and develops this issue's relevant managerial economics principles in a straightforward manner. Examples of the major cases included in the text are: Coca Cola's vertical structure and pricing, Breakeven at the Asian Wall Street Journal, Fujitsu, Texas Instruments, and the DRAM industry, Qwest's 230% excess capacity, Northwest Airlines' pricing strategy, Airbus' organizational architecture, Microsoft vs. AOL in Internet service, and Amazon's vertical integration into warehousing. The discussions are reinforced with numerous supplementary cases, including Echo Bay Mines (Canada) and the Brisbane Concrete Cartel. Each chapter includes fifteen review questions to underscore basic principles, as well as over ten discussion questions to apply and expand upon these principles to recent business problems.

This second edition also emphasizes the economic principles of the "new economy," particularly scalability and network effects. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

To Business Leaders: This is the Managerial Economics book
As an undergraduate Economics minor, general manager of a software company, and current MBA candidate, I consider Png's Managerial Economics work an essential addition to any business leader's library - especially anyone required to make key, informed decisions in the presence of scarce resources.

Dr. Png's Managerial Economics is head and shoulders above comparable managerial economics texts due to Png's use of relevant, real-world examples that drive home the course fundamentals. Dr. Png's content combines the science of Economics with the tenets of business strategy, providing the student with the key perspective needed to make intelligent business decisions in today's ever-changing business environment.

Instead of plodding over-explanation or over-simplification like many comparable texts, Dr. Png's work delivers the course concepts with informed clarity. Instead of feeling stupefied or unworthy after reading each chapter of the text, I increasingly gained a sense of knowledge and understanding as I progressed. This is the great difference between Dr. Png's work and the other comparable texts I have used: instead of feeling mystified, I finished the book with a higher degree of workable, usable economic know-how, that I have already incorporated into my every-day decision making

I highly recommend Dr. Png's Managerial Economics (2nd. Ed.) text to any student of business or anyone simply interested in keeping current with cutting-edge economic thought.

Using this text in an undergraduate course.
I have used this book on several times, teaching an undergraduate managerial econ. course with 25-35 students. The overall reaction was good, most students understood the contents and felt that the text concentrated on usable tools, not just abstract economic models. The book may need supplementation for some types of students, something that allows them to do their own empirical or quasi empirical applicatons of some of the tools (e.g., a demand study using Excel).

If you were ask to choose 1 book for your business desk?
Let's say that you are not an economist, you are just a business man as I am, when you are ask about microecomics maybe you can still recall something from the university days... but what if you are ask about a soundly pricing policy? usage of elasticities? cost curves? marginal cost/revenues? Do you still feel comfortable with what you recall from university? Maybe not, like me. If you are wondering about having a single book of microeconomics, this book is the one you are looking for (it is also great for MBAs). ... Read more

Book Description

This is the first book to cover not only the economics of the fine arts and performing arts, but also public policy toward the arts at federal, state, and local levels in the United States.The second edition offers greater coverage of the international arts sector.The work will interest academic readers as a supplementary text on the sociology of the arts, as well as general readers seeking a systematic analysis of the economics of the arts.Theoretical concepts are developed from scratch so that readers with no background in economics can follow the argument. ... Read more