Economics: Complete Ed.

Received the book on time in perfect condition just as advertised. What else can you ask for?

Parkin has done an excellent job making economics extremely clear. Information in the text is broken down into very small conceptiual steps while still capturing the powerful essence of economics. The examples are both relevent and thought-provoking - and the end-of-the chapter issues are relevent in time and tie concepts to the real world. It is also worthy to note that the economics concepts covered have been, in large part, set for a number of years. Current economic theory aside, the basics captures in this text can be found in any well-written economics text.

I think Parkin's explanations are clear and concise. There were no blah-blah-blah's about weird econ stuff that a beginner would get confused about. The pictures really helped you understand the concept too. Finally (and this might just be me), I thought the segments about famous economists and current-affairs articles relating to econ were fun to read.

This book is the best introductory economics textbook that I have ever read. There are other good books and in different languages, however this is the most comprehensive summary of most of the topics that a Bachelor in economics will cover. It is especially useful and accessible to everyone since it helps you develop the necessary intuition for more advanced and profound courses. Basically, nothing more that basic math is required to read this book, and no statistics, much less econometrics or anything advanced. For advanced students, it is still helpful since it can be used as a reference for concepts. It is conveniently divided into two parts, macroeconomics and microeconomics. The macro part for example starts by outlining the very basis of the macro models, and from then it proceeds to add different variables that make the model more complex. Its explanations are very tractable and are accompanied by numerical examples in tables that help you develop notions such as what a marginal increment is and so on. All that, without the necessity of derivatives. I would undoubtedly buy this book if I were to start studying economics even in countries where economics is not a major but an entire undergraduate program with many econ classes.

Parkin's text is probably one of the best introductory textbooks for economics. The primary criticisms of Parkin's text seem to stem from its perspective on teaching economics. Parkin presents the full breadth of "high economics" - a means of analyzing and resolving problems of scarcity. Parkin stresses the underlying problems that the techniqiues of analysis are designed to address rather than merely reciting mathematical formulae that seem to exist in a vacuum.Parkin's graphs and explanations are generally excellent and well worth reading. To Parkin's credit, he clearly distinguishes between positive and normative conclusions of economics. Many introductory textbooks become dogmatic regarding the author's conclusions.Some readers apparently do not like the additional information and text boxes that Parkin includes in this book. These criticisms appear to be misguided. One of this book's greatest strengths is that it is not afraid to admit that it is introductory. In many ways the best introductory texts are survey-type books that allow you to learn the language and primary concerns of that field of study. Further courses in price theory, public choice, welfare economics, antitrust, money & banking all rely on a strong conceptual understanding of basic economics. After reading Parkin the careful reader will be able to comprehend the primary considerations of economics and communicate with more advanced scholars in this field.