Schaum's Outline of Theory and Problems of Introduction to Mathematical Economics

This is an excellent book. I would recommend it for anyone wishing to learn mathematical economics. It is equally beneficial to college students, who can use this book as a supplement to their textbook, and to those who want to use this book for self-study. For anyone who is weak in mathematical knowledge, the author presents the necessary mathematical skills needed to understand how to work the problems. As the author states: "No mathematical proficiency beyond the high school level is assumed at the start." All the required concepts are clearly explained.The problems range from the easier to the more challenging ones. For example, some of the chapters include doing proofs, although these are limited to a minimum. In fact, only the chapter on "Simultaneous Differential and Difference Equations," out of all the chapters, contains a greater proportion of problems dealing with proofs - a little less than one-half of the total problems at the end of this chapter involve proofs.This 3rd edition excludes three chapters on linear programming which were included in the 2nd edition. However, three other chapters were added instead: comparative statics and concave programming, simultaneous differential and difference equations, and optimal control theory.I believe the author has done a very good job in presenting a difficult subject in an understandable manner.

I teach math for economists to undergraduates and Ph.D. and Masters students. I and my students agree, this book is great. It isn't a math textbook -- you will still need a good one of those (I am currently recommending Michael Klein's book for undergrads and the text by Simon and Blume for grad students.) But the book is more than a list of problems. The problems are written and organized to build up your understanding of the math. I like this book much better than most of the other Schaum's outline books; it doesn't drown you in detail, but helps you move through the structure of the math.

This book is excellent, soooo much better than the text required by my instructor, Fundamental Methods of Mathematical Economics by Alpha C. Chiang. I learned infinitely more studying from this book than I did going to lectures and doing homework from the other text. It focuses on calculations, problem solving, and economic applications, not mathematic theory. After all, I am studying to be an economist, not a mathematician.

As an undergraduate student studying economics and econometrics I recommend this book as the best book to have in amongst your study books!If you don't like or understand a lot of the garbled mathematical explanations (especially in microeconomic texts) then this book is your friend ... hundreds of easy to understand examples and worked problems will get you through whatever paper/course you are studying.For someone who just wants to increae their understanding of mathematical equations and definitions, then this is the book for you also.Thanks for this book Dr Dowling, it has sure made my life easier ... especially when I was learning new principles at the 100 level (base level).Definitely worth buying! Kristina

This helps beginning PhD econ students (and other PhD students taking econ PhD core courses) to get to the important points fast. With a lot of exercises, it also drives the point home quick.If you are one like me who gets frustrated with a lot of blah blah from textbooks like Simon and Blume, as well as the terse/succinct textbook like Varian's Microeconomics analysis, this is a great buy. This book is direct to the point, and very student friendly.