Microeconomics: Study Guide

I will be starting a grad program in public policy in the fall, and microeconomics is a prerequisite for the quantitative curriculum. I never took econ in college, and I didn't want to waste an elective taking an undergraduate course, so I decided to teach myself with this book over the summer. I'm not sure that I could have asked for a better introductory book. It does not assume prior knowledge and it explains the foundations of economics in clear, precise terms. I especially enjoy how, even though you do not need prior knowledge of calculus to understand the lessons, there are special sections where they explore the math in more depth (albeit briefly). Though it is clearly an introduction to the subject, it covers sufficient material to actually teach me something (rather than going over basic concepts that could be grasped by a 7-year-old). Overall, I am very satisfied with this resource. I expect that when I finish it, I will have proficient knowledge of microeconomic concepts and jargon to move on to more advanced texts and courses in grad school.

Organization of the books is good. Topics are discussed with enough clarity and each topic comes with lots of graphs and illustrations (which I think are a great help at that level). The level of algebra and math is at an intermediate undergraduate level (economics major). I think it is a complete book for anybody who wants to have an understanding of microeconomics. I am a Ph.D. student of economics now and if I am going to teach an undergrad micro course, I will certainly choose this textbook.

Unlike most texts in economics, this one is neither full of abstract equations nor is it completely devoid of them. This book balances both intuition and the math underlying economic phenomena. However, that is not all. As a student, I always wondered whether it is really possible to implement the concepts in practice. This book shows you how to do that by giving many examples from the real world. Whether you want to understand why tariffs are the lesser evil vis-a-vis quotas or how P & G will set prices in a competitive oligopoly, this book will show how. This, "economics in practice" approach makes this a truly delightful read. Buy it, read it and you will never regret it.

Economics is a fasting growing and fast going subject! This book is wonderful and great! As has mentioned by previous reviewers. But an update version would be necessary and more wonderful.

I've used this book in an intermediate micro course at Berkeley, and I have to say that this is one of the best written economics books I've read. One of its greatest advantages is the clarity of explanation and abundance of visual aid such as graphs and tables throughout the book to support the material. The graphs get a bit complicated towards the last chapters, but that's only because the material that needs to be illustrated through those graphs gets complicated as well.Second, even though I've had extensive economics background, the book could be suitable for beginners. The first two chapters give a concise overview of a basic Econ 1 course, explaining the basics of supply and demand, market structure, etc. - everything a person with little economics background needs to know to be able to understand this book. However, if you find this book to simple for you, keep in mind that Prentice Hall publishes it as "Intermediate Economics" - for use in 2nd or 3rd year in an undergraduate economics program.Unlike many other econ textbooks I've encountered, this book is neither math-heavy nor theory-heavy - it has a good balance of theoretical information coupled with enough mathematical examples to get the message across. However, many students (and some reviewers on this website) find that there aren't enough examples and exercises (with answers) in the book - for that I'd HIGHLY recommend getting the Student Study Guide. It quickly summarizes each chapter (good for emergency test/quiz studying) and provides plenty of sample problems as it summarizes the concepts. It also includes a quick chapter quiz and gives the solutions to all problems found in the Study Guide.Also unlike most outdated econ textbooks today, this one includes excellent chapters on Game Theory and pricing strategies. I've heard from a few business majors here at Berkeley that they're encouraged to read those two chapters as good examples of how these concepts apply to business and economics. The book features many "Sample Boxes" - small paragraphs on how the current topic of discussion has been applied in the real world. This helps understand that economics is a real science (in a sense that it can produce theories that are testable in the real world) and has some useful applications.Overall, this is a very good economics textbook for intermediate microeconomics. The book alone deserves 4 stars, but coupled with the study guide, it's definitely a 5.