Economics: High School Version Second Edition

Just bought this textbook and currently I am reading through it. This book is magnificent. It's well written and easy to understand, with detailed diagrams that clearly convey the economic principles the authors are explaining in the surrounding text. Of course diagrams are found in every economics textbook, but the organization and neat presentation of this book does wonders to aid learning, and in my opinion goes beyond other books I have read. Each chapter builds on the previous and really enlightens the reader regarding the most important principles of economic theory (micro and macro).For those worried about Krugman and whether he has just layered this book full of leftist propaganda, consider this opening paragraph from Chapter 5:"New York City is a place where you can find almost anything - that is, almost anything, except a taxicab when you need one or a decent apartment at a rent you can afford. You might think that New York's notorious shortages of cabs and apartments are the inevitable price of big-city living. However, they are largely the product of government policies - specifically, of government policies that have, one way or another, tried to prevail over the market forces of supply and demand."I'll be honest, as a avid reader of Krugman in the NYT, I'd never expected to read such a paragraph in this book. Krugman saying that sometimes the government is the problem? Krugman goes on to explain exactly what policies are to blame for the housing shortage and taxi cab shortage in New York.The rest of the textbook is full of similar balance. He constantly keeps surprising me and making me think about things that I've never noticed before, such as the housing problem in New York. Who knew such a problem has a simple explanation? (The explanation they give is that the housing shortage is caused by rent control, "a law that prevents landlords from raising rents except when specifically given permission.")He and Robin really deliver a fair and balanced discussion of economics from Adam Smith up to present day. The book is full of little tidbits of information that Krugman and Wells call "Economics in Action" and "For Inquiring Minds" that usually contain little stories he's simply pulled from his daily reading of the New York Times and other newspapers. He comments on them from an professional economist's point of view and relates them to the current discussion in whatever chapter they appear.For example, in Chapter 3 under "Economics in Action," Robin writes (as far as I know, Krugman wrote the macro chapters, and Robin wrote the micro):"Thousands in Mexico City protest rising food prices." So read the headline in the New York Times on February 1, 2007. Specifically, the demonstrators were protesting a sharp rise in the price of tortillas, a staple food of Mexico's poor, which had a gone from 25 cents a pound to between 35 and 45 cents a pound in just a few months.Why were tortilla prices soaring? It was a classic example of what happens to equilibrium prices when supply falls. Tortillas are made from corn; much of Mexico's corn is imported from the United States, with the price of corn in both countries basically set in the U.S. corn market. And U.S. corn prices were rising rapidly thanks to the surging demand in a new market: the market for ethanol."It's an interesting little factoid about a real life situation and he (or she) relates it to the subject of the chapter, which was Supply and Demand in that case. The book is littered with different examples on all sorts of topics in every chapter. And notice, once again Krugman could have gone off in a rant against the North American Free Trade agreement, and how the U.S. Government's subsidies to farming was also partly responsible for running Mexico's corn producers out of business by flooding the global market with cheap corn (or something to that effect), but he never does. He keeps it professional and on topic, and it really provides a great learning experience. This is one of those textbooks that is so good a teacher isn't needed to assist in learning process.So needless to say I'm quite impressed. The few problems in the Second Edition I received from Amazon include various printing mistakes - such as on a few pages there is text printed on top of a graph that shouldn't be there. Not sure if that is just a one time printing error or something that is in all 2nd editions. But it's not enough to recommend staying away from this book. So if you are looking to learn more about economics, and even if you are just a layman and know nothing about economics, you can't go wrong with this book. I guarantee if you have even the slightest interest in this subject then you'll find this a delightful read.

I have read portions of several economics textbooks and I have to say that Economics, Second Edition ( 2009 ) appears to be one of the best.Despite Paul Krugman's reputation as a "leftist" the introductory pages of this text present economics in the favorable light of the classical "invisible hand" market model of economics which Krugman praises enthusiastically in his opening volley . Krugman drags the "command economy" model of economics over the coals with highly critical references to the Soviet command economy that preceded the mixed economy that seems now to prevail in Russia.The edition that I am reading appears to have been written too early to take the Great Recession fully into account so as a result its appraisal of the state of the American economy seems to be overly optimistic. In these early pages some lip service is paid to the role of externalities and to the toxic effect of greed, but these topics are unfortunately minimalized in the introductory pages of this text.As to the specific deficiencies of command economies that are cited by Paul Krugman it appears to me that many of the problems that Paul Krugman cites may be ameliorated by the application of current and future higher speed computers and by the generation of new economic models that may be made possible and practical by this new technology. Anyway, I think that Paul Krugman has resorted to stereotypes in his critique of the Soviet command economy, and I further think that many of the problems of that economy were caused more by the political organization of the former Soviet Union than by any intrinsic fault of the command model of economic regulation and the command model allocation of the resources of society.

Dr. Krugman is a master communicator and teacher. His explanations of complex subjects are elegant, clearly stated and very easy to understand. Recommended for anyone who wants to really understand economics. The price is quite high, but I recommend you do as I did and get a used copy from Amazon. Mine was in excellent shape and cost me a fraction of a new edition.

No one teaches economics as well as Krugman-- except Kevin Baker-- and this text is a delight to read. Granted, it is an economics textbook, but in small doses, it is exactly what most people need for a general understanding.

MY DAUGHTER SAID THE BOOK WAS WELL COVERED ON THE SUBJECT HOWEVER SHE DESPISED ECONOMICS AND BEING TAUGHT ECONOMICS BY AN ATTORNEY MADE IT TOUGH WHEN HE DIDN'T FOLLOW THE BOOK. IF THE TEACHER HAD FOLLOWED THE BOOK THE SUBJECT WOULD HAVE BEEN EASIER TO UNDERSTAND. YOU CAN'T BLAME A BAD INSTRUCTOR FOR THE BOOK, THE BOOK WAS GOOD.

The text book for me was ok. I thought the text was fine to read but when you tested on the book, the wording was changed so much that you were easily confused. Not my favorite.

I gave it a 2 star rating only because of the description. This was not a brand new book. It was in perfect condition, but there was no aplia card included like there should be in a new book. Great book in perfect like new condition though.

Didn't have the right edition but got most of the job done. But it was still a good book. Good luck

Very Good! 大変助かっています。和文のテキストと一緒に、英語ではこういうのかと、活用させていただいています。

当方、経済学の知識は軽めの入門書を読んだ程度、英語は高校レベルですが、読み進められます。ページ数の割りに薄くて思ったより場所をとりません。（AKIRAの6巻と同じくらいです 笑）経済と英語の一石二鳥を狙うにはなかなかよいのではないでしょうか。

Dieses Buch bietet eine Einführung in die Volkswirtschaftslehre.Nach einer kurzen Einführung in die Methoden der Volkswirtschaftslehre werden die üblichen Felder der Mikroökonomik und Markoökonomik behandelt, also u. a. Märkte, Marktformen, Marktversagen, Konjunktur und internationaler Handel.Ein wichtiger Aspekt ist der Gegensatz zwischen Effizienz und Fairness. So ist eine Einheitssteuer zwar vielleicht effizient, aber sehr unfair. Das musste Frau Thatcher in England auch erleben... Darüber hinaus muss man die Endlichkeit der Ressourcen und die Umwelt (ganz besonders den Klimawandel) beachten. Jedoch ist nicht jedes Marktversagen dem Markt anzulasten; es kann sich auch um das Fehlen von Eigentumsrechten handeln, was besonders bei der Überfischung der Meere deutlich wird. Im Bereich des Sozialstaats gibt es viele Argumente pro und contra, was exemplarisch an den Philosophen Rawls (Umverteilung ist gerecht) und Nozick (Umverteilung ist Diebstahl) diskutiert wird.Makroökonomisch ist der Übergang von der kurzen Frist (Preise und Löhne sind fest) zur langen Frist (Preise und Löhne sind flexibel -> Geld ist neutral) wichtig. Dazu wird hier der Zusammenhang zwischen Nachfrage, Inflation und Arbeitslosigkeit (z. B. Okuns Gesetz) heraus gearbeitet. Die mittlere Frist ist dann die Anpassung der Löhne auf dem Weg zum Niveau der natürlichen Arbeitslosigkeit. Die lange Frist stellt man am besten mit dem AS/AD-Modell dar; in der kurzen Frist ist auch das Keynesianische Kreuz sinnvoll. Man muss immer den Multiplikator der Staatsausgaben berücksichtigen (wobei man dessen Minderung durch Steuern oder Importe einrechnen muss).Für Europa sind die Ausführungen zum Euro, zum Arbeitsmarkt (Stichwort: Eurosklerose) und zur Arbeitslosigkeit in Ostdeutschland von besonderen Interesse.Ausgehend von den Erfahrungen der Weltwirtschaftskrise wird gezeigt, wie Konjunkturpolitik funktioniert. Dabei werden auch Ursachen, Verlauf und Bekämpfung der aktuellen Finanzkrise diskutiert.Zum Abschluss wird eine Übersicht über die Entwicklung der Volkswirtschaftslehre und deren aktuellen Wissensstand gegeben.***Mir hat das Buch gut gefallen. Jedes Kapitel beginnt mit einer Einführungsgeschichte, bietet internationale Vergleiche, Definitionen, Aufgaben und Zusammenfassungen. Manchmal gibt es sogar Karikaturen. So wird das langsame Erkennen der Finanzkrise mit den Zeichentrickfilmen von Wile E. Coyote verglichen (der stürzt immer erst nach einiger Zeit ab, wenn er bemerkt, dass er über einen Abhang lief und keinen Boden mehr unter sich hat). So wird das Buch trotz seiner enormen Länge nicht langweilig.Warum dann nur vier Punkte? Die Wirtschaftspolitik während der Weltwirtschaftskrise wird mit der aktuellen Finanzkrise verglichen. Im Gegensatz zu Präsident Bush habe dessen Vorgänger Hoover nichts gegen die Krise getan; erst Roosevelt reagierte richtig und der Zweite Weltkrieg beendete wegen der hohen Staatsausgaben die Krise, sodass die Arbeitslosigkeit sank. Leider sind das nur alte Mythen. Hoover war als Macher bekannt und hat Arbeitsbeschaffungsprogramme aufgelegt; Roosevelt hat diese Maßnahmen praktisch nur ausgeweitet. Natürlich beendete der Krieg die Arbeitslosigkeit; das lag jedoch nicht an den Staatsausgaben, sondern an der Wehrpflicht!

Amazing book. Bought it to prepare for an exam, but enjoyed reading it in my free time as it is really well written and great general knowledge that it provides gives you easy access to it.

Das Produkt ist in einem sehr guten zustand trotz des geringen wasserschadens und den ramponierten ecken bin ich sehr zufrieden mit der qualität.ABER ich warte immernoch auf meine Rechnung !!!!