2 comments about Macroeconomics: Principles and Policy (with InfoTrac®).

1. Economics by Baumol covers both micro and macro. Get that book, and you don't have to buy two books. Hint.



2. Stephen Marglin, the professor who came up with the idea to teach an alternative economic principles course at Harvard compared Greg Mankiw's popular textbook with the text by Blinder and Baumol (he was referring to their "Economics" but the same applies to "Macroeconomics"): "Baumol-Blinder is more nuanced and careful in its defense of the market". That is precisely true. This textbook gives you a conventional account of mainstream macroeconomics (as well as basic microeconomics) in a fairly nuanced manner (for a mainstream text). The main problem of the text is that it sometimes gets so long-winded, overly colorful and tedious that often one is better off just reading the summary in the end of the chapter.

5 comments about Hard Landing: The Epic Contest for Power and Profits That Plunged the Airlines into Chaos.

1. although the book probably started in good condition, the seller did not package it properly and it came with cover and first 100 or so pages horribly bent.



2. 
   "Hard Landing" is a well written book that is delightful to read. The book gives critical insights into the airline industry focusing on its history and describing the various players highlighting the different individual management styles.
   
   It was fascinating to learn how the USA airline industry went through deregulation and some of the lessons are very useful to the African airline industry which is gradually going through profound changes. I particularly enjoyed the story of the aviation industry from its very beginning through the First and Second World Wars, the emergence of the low-cost carriers such as Southwest Airlines, the emergence and disappearance of several airlines, the deregulation of the USA airline industry, the computer reservation system, the hub and spoke networks, discounted pricing, among others.
   
   Among the most interesting characters I enjoyed reading about include Frank Lorenzo, Bob Crandall and Herb Kelleher. This is good reading particularly for those that wish to learn about the history and development of the aviation industry. The book would be greatly enhanced if the author updates it to take into account the profound changes that have taken place since its publication.



3. Thomas Petzinger's Hard Landing is an in-depth and fascinating analysis of the history of the airline industry. Petzinger takes the reader from the birth of the airline industry just after World War I to the rise of industry giant Southwest Airlines. The book is not short. Including Petzinger's "Postscript to the Paperback Edition," Hard Landing is just short of five hundred pages long. The length of Hard Landing should not be a deterrent to the reader but rather an incentive. Petzinger filled Hard Landing with so much information that one is surprised he completed the book in five hundred pages. Petzinger's research is also noteworthy. Petzinger filled the bibliography with books, articles, papers, and primary source interviews that give Hard Landing a historical authenticity that many current books lack. Hard Landing should be read by anyone who has an interest in politics, the airline industry, history, and the combination thereof.
   
   In Hard Landing, Thomas Petzinger transports the reader back the glory days of the airline industry. Early on, Petzinger introduces the mythological giants Herb Kelleher, Frank Lorenzo, and Bob Crandall early in their respective careers. Petzinger introduces most of his characters directly out of their respective Ivy League school. All men are classic airline giants--hard drinking, cursing, smoking, demonstrative men of the airline industry. Petzinger uses profanity-laced quotes to show the vigor with which the heads of the various airlines competed against each other. In some books, writers inappropriately use profanity to underscore points that ultimately require no underscoring. In Hard Landing, Petzinger selectively drops profanity filled quotes into the narrative to place the reader "in the action" of the story. This method works quite well as the reader will find him/herself unable to stop reading this insightful work.
   
   The airline industry is a complex monstrosity. Petzinger deconstructs the industry with masterful precision. As an editor of the Wall Street Journal, Thomas Petzinger is likely accustomed to deconstructing complex stories. A search on Amazon.com reveals that Petzinger wrote two other books on complex subjects. Petzinger's other books deal with men and women in the modern marketplace and the large oil companies. Petzinger may not have aviation industry experience but it is quite clear that he researched Hard Landing meticulously and gave his subjects the utmost respect.
   
   Some reviewers have criticized Petzinger for his focus only on America's airlines, specifically his focus on Texas-based airlines. This is an unfair criticism because it displays a lack of understanding of the history of the airline industry. Texas International, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and Continental Airlines all have strong roots in Texas. Furthermore, Walter Folger Brown and the eventual Civil Aeronautics Board built the most extensive and successful airline structure in the world. Petzinger is correct to focus exclusively on the American airlines.
   
   Beyond the history of the airline industry, Petzinger also shows the collusion between the airlines and the United States government. When the Carter Administration took office in 1977, the corruption and collusion between the airlines and the government reached a monumental scale. Petzinger's account of the political wrangling involved in the deregulation of the airline industry is simply fascinating. Many major political players of today played a major role in deregulation. Even George W. Bush's former Transportation Secretary, Norman Mineta, appears to provide the decisive vote needed to pass deregulation. Petzinger's political history is as fascinating as his airline industry history.
   
   Petzinger makes an interesting point in his postscript. When he completed Hard Landing in the late 1990's, the airlines were in a period of relative calm. In the final lines of Hard Landing, Petzinger says, "Only when the economy again moved into the minus column would anyone know for sure whether the leaders of the industry had changed their war-mongering ways, or whether at last, they, and their industry, had matured." Subsequent to the tragic events of September 11, it is safe to say that the airline industry has moved into the "minus column" once again. The amazing airline drama continues.



4. The fundamental story of commercial aviation in the United States, as Eddie Rickenacker, aptly if not crassly said, is of "putting bums in seats."(175) At first there were no airline companies with aircraft or routes to transport those seats in which to place the bums. The public's early perception of flight as reckless and dangerous was not unwarranted. It took time for people to become comfortable with the concept of air transportation. Whether commercial aviation would have eventually emerged on its own, without the encouragement of federal involvement, is one of the great unknowns of modern times.
   
   In any case, it was the Post Office Department that was the seedbed of America's commercial aviation industry. Under the tutelage and bulldog determination of Second Assistant Postmaster General Otto Praeger, a rudimentary experimental mail system took shape, proving scheduling reliability, if not profitability. From this tenuous beginning private commercial aviation took root within a permissive system of federal oversight. Until the DC-3 came along, a mail subsidy was the key to making a profit. The remarkable DC-3 was the first aircraft capable of operating profitably without carrying the mail.
   
   The challenge of building a system capable of reliably and safely carrying people by air was, by the late nineteen thirties, largely resolved. Airlines were flying aircraft over established air routes to airports at cities across the country. An unanticipated consequence of this success was that ironically there were now too many seats! Carriers flew in direct competition in prime markets. Consequently none were making money and the industry was threatened by total collapse. What was the answer? Well of course, government help! The Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938 brought monopoly rights to air routes and direct federal economic regulation to the industry. This state existed for forty years, until the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 was enacted. The law removed the government from responsibility for awarding routes and establishing fares. What happened next is the subject of Thomas Petzinger's, Hard Landing.
   
   Hard Landing is the story of the airline industry in the United States following deregulation. It is a rough and tumble ride typical of an airplane flight through bad weather. There was no doubt that the industry would survive, but there would be some sick passengers in route. New carriers emerged while some old-line pioneers disappeared. In command during this turbulent time the older generation of executives gave way to a new cadre of younger leaders. Petzinger focuses his story around these dynamic new leaders.
   
   Fundamental to understanding the story is the power of the market place; "putting bums in seats." Once the aircraft leaves the gate any empty seat represents a lost opportunity. Airlines "sell one of the few products consumed while it is being produced." (xix) How an airline CEO managed his enterprise to fill those seats after deregulation would determined his company's success or failure. Operating an efficient airline in the post-regulated environment pitted managers in conflict externally with each other and internally with their own employees.
   
   In the deregulated era, in addition to unregulated competition, executives had to deal with the controller's strike, recessions, accidents, fuel cost spikes, bankruptcies and wars. What kind of personal attributes attract individuals to aspire to leadership in this type of business and competitive arena? They are extreme types with some common denominators: a huge ego, an obsession with control, a single strategic vision, and a need to be at the center of all decision making.
   
   At the highest level, at the airlines that matter, barely a dozen people have played this game in the past 25 years - a small group of white men who made the industry their sandlot from the late 1960s to the mid - 1990s. Although it was through their efforts that flying became inexpensive and commonplace, they entered the industry at a time when flying was special and when the men in charge were looked upon as demigods of the industrial world. (xx)
   
   Airline executives are aggressor types. Indeed, Crandall's nickname was "Fang," though it was not used to his face. But not all executives were cutthroat. Kelleher and Marshall (British Airways) "distinguished themselves with dignity."(478)
   
   Within the pages of Hard Landing there are few successes and many failures. Frank Lorenzo (Trans-Texas Airways, Texas International, Continental, New York Air, Eastern) was a central figure throughout the period. But not only did he lose out at the end of the game, he also ended up being remembered as a remorseless villain within the aviation community. Herbert Kelleher (Southwest), on the other hand, emerges as an innovative, charismatic leader of a perennially profitable carrier. Bob Crandall (American) earns our respect, if not our endearment. The peripatetic Stephen Wolf "turned around, and reaped tremendous profits at more airlines than perhaps any executive in aviation history" (479)
   
   Petzinger's writing carries the reader along with the action but one of his strengths is in his explanation of airline economics. The competitive circumstances are made clear and the critical decisions are placed in context with marketing principles. The economic relationship of price and capacity are explained in understandable terms.
   
   Trippe [Pan American Airlines] discovered what might be called The First Rule of Economics: If a plane is going to take off anyway - once the fuel is purchased and the pilot paid and the interest rendered on the money borrowed to buy the plane in the first place - any paying passenger or payload recruited to the flight is pure profit. The fare paid by the last passenger taken aboard represents a fabulously lucrative rate of return. (7)
   
   Another rule of marketing was used by Southwest briefly when Braniff undercut its already low fares in an attempt to drive Southwest from the market. Southwest matched the fares but gave anyone who paid full fare a bottle of Chivas Regal.
   
   For a time in 1973 Southwest had discovered another lesson in airline marketing: giving the expense-account customer something for free that he could take home instead of to the office - in short a kickback - won his undying loyalty. (37)
   
   Southwest managed to hold on and prosper. Under deregulation Braniff filed for bankruptcy only to reemerge as a smaller Braniff II, which eventually failed completely.
   
   Crandall combined American's informational technology advantage from its powerful Saber reservation system to create a method to win the undying loyalty of business travelers. Frequent Flier points rewarded frequent business travelers. In competition with the new entry and upstart carriers, yield management programs enabled dynamic carriers like American and United to compete against new lines such as People Express. People Express did not have a reservations system and would not pay to use American's. Passengers could not get through on the phone lines and customer service suffered. Donald Burr eventually was forced to sell People Express to his former boss and archrival, Frank Lorenzo.
   
   People Express was folded into Continental just as were parts of Eastern. Eastern Airlines became another victim of deregulation under Frank Lorenzo`s heavy-handed style of aggressive management. In the process, former astronaut Frank Borman, departed the scene as well. Charlie Bryan, of Eastern's machinists union, dragged the carrier to the ground by his refusal to consider any labor concessions.
   
   In Hard Landing, Petzinger discusses the effects of new aircraft such as the Boeing 767 as a smaller and more economical aircraft to use on long thin routes rather than the larger Boeing 747. He covers the controversy and ill will generated by Crandall's b-scale employee pay program. United's Boeing 737 featherbedding issue (two crew design, but third pilot required by a union contract) and employee buyout are explained. Pilot slowdowns and strikes, mergers and buyouts, and a myriad of other issues generated by deregulation are extensively described.
   
   While Hard Landing traces the actions of a few dominant actors, not spoken about are the many employees who lived, prospered or suffered from the decisions made on high. The forces of the market place hit them too. Many of them lost jobs without any severance. Of all their bosses, only three executives, Herb Kelleher, Sir Collin Marshall, and Bob Crandall remained at the time Petzinger`s book was published. The others lost their executive positions but took some solace from their acquired wealth.
   
   An additional point, which Petzinger makes, is the importance of the safety issue. All through this unsettled time, the executives and managers universally upheld the need for safety. While accidents occurred, the causes were not attributed to any broad industry problem. It should be noted that deregulation did not change government oversight of safety and operational scrutiny. Indeed the FAA conducted an extensive investigation of New York Air after it was reported that safety practices were being violated. None were found however.
   
   The airline industry is experiencing another cycle of distress. As a consequence of the attacks on September 11, once again too many seats are available for the bums that want to fill them. Petzinger would well be advised to write a sequel entitled Harder Landing. In the history of the airline industry in the United States, each succeeding peak and valley seems to eclipse the one that came before. One day it is certain that the good times will return but for now, fasten your seat belts!



5. I've worked in the airline and airplane game all my years and bought this book from Amazon a while back. It sat on the shelf until I got time to read it but when I picked it up I couldn't put it down. My biggest regret is taking so long to read it - a travesty. Having sat in rooms as part of negotiating such deals as taking over an airline, all the shady stuff is true and yet believable and entertaining. Add to that a great author with superb writing skills and I rate this one of the best. Buy the book!

5 comments about One Nation, Underprivileged: Why American Poverty Affects Us All.

1. On Nation, Underprivileged is a timely discussion of an issue that impacts us all. In his book, Professor Rank carefully crafts a compassionate, analytical and innovative approach for addressing poverty in our country. This is a must read for all (especially policy makers).



2. Mark Rank proposes many interesting ideas that attempt redefine how we think about poverty in America. Most of his ideas are solid, but my deepest concern is with the readers who gave this book 5 stars and used the word "interesting" to describe it. Did they actually read it?
   
   This book is an unending parade of boring and repeated ideas presented in different, yet equally boring ways. I honestly beleive that this book has destroyed the thrill of musical chairs for me forever. This book could have been written in about 150 pages instead of the 250 it actually took if he simply used his original, not to mention solid, ideas. The nature of the book greatly weakened his overall argument.
   
   Not only was the book dry, but it also seemed to fail to acknowledge the global system the US is a part of, and in particular, the role that immigration plays on poverty in the US. He talks about the US and the people in it as if they were static, but we live in a very fluid world, growing more fluid everyday, and I feel that his failure to ackowledge this fact truly hurts his overall argument.



3. What I really enjoyed about this book was its organization and the strength of its arguments. It begins by laying out the extent and reasons for poverty in America. Then it shifts to developing several lines of reasoning as to why poverty is such an important issue that affects us all. And finally, the last third of the book talks about what can be done to effectively address poverty. I particularly enjoyed the last chapter that talks about what an individual can do in their daily life to create a positive change with respect to reducing poverty. I definitely plan to use the arguments in this book in the future.
   
   I also appreciated the blending of solid research evidence with the sense of social justice and values that the author brings to bear. Overall, very well done, and very important!



4. This is a book on American poverty. It is written by an academic. It is well-researched and intelligently written. There is no question, but that Rank knows his material.
   
   That said, the substance of the book is utterly out of touch with reality. The book essentially makes two arguments. First, Rank argues for what he calls a "new paradigm" for understanding poverty. He argues that, instead of viewing poverty as the fault of individuals who do not work hard enough, we should view it as the fault of our social and economic system.
   
   This, of course, is not a new argument. This would have been a genuine "new paradigm" if the book had been published in, say 1910. By the early 21st century, there is nothing remotely new about this thought.
   
   Second, Rank argues that the American people ought to care about the poor. His assumption is that that we do not care, because, if we did care, we would vote for massive social welfare programs, which would fix the problem.
   
   Professor Rank, were you living in a cave for the last forty years? The American people do care about the poor. We voted for President Lyndon Johnson, in 1964, who did all of the things that you want. It is a complicated story, but the short answer is that the whole thing did not work out as planned. In my opinion, the American people still care about poverty, but the problem is that no one has a plausible program for solving the problem. This book does not help to fill that gap.



5. This book provides information, both statistical and anecdotal, on the structural perspective of poverty. Inspirational and eye-opening, Rank reminds us that our social, economic, and political systems are to blame for the existence of poverty in America.

2 comments about Study Guide for use with Macroeconomics.

1. The study guide came in excellent condition as advertised but the vendor waited sixteen days before mailing it. The order was received almost one month after the order was placed.



2. I received my product quickly, the price was reasonable, as was the condition of the book. I would definitely reorder with this seller.

5 comments about The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money.

1. John Maynard Keynes is the collectivist's savior. Finally, the welfare statist thinks, someone who actually makes my ideas sound good to economists. Unfortunately, Keynes's theory is nothing new. It should be incredibly obvious to any non-professional that if a large entity (government) decides to spend a lot of money over a short period of time, then in the short term there will be very pleasurable effects. In the long term, however, a large sum of money spent by the government will have very harmful effects, distorting the price system and creating inflation, whereas a large sum of money spent by a private entity will have a sustained benefit on the economy.



2. Keynes presented a generalization of neoclassical theory.Keynes starts the GT in chapter 2 where he analyzes the neoclassical theory of the labor market.He notes that the most advanced technical treatmant was presented by Pigou in his 1933 book,The Theory of Unemployment.Keynes demonstrates in the appendix to chapter 19 that Pigou's model of his theory is a special case of Keynes's general model developed in chapters 20 and 21.The primary result of neoclassical theory is that an optimum result (full employment)is obtained in the aggregate labor market if the aggregated real wage(w/p) equals the marginal product of labor(mpl) derived from an aggregated production function(O= phi(N)).This is expressed as w/p=mpl,where w is the money wage,p is the price level,and mpl is the aggregated marginal product of labor.In chapters 20 and 21 Keynes presented his mathematical analysis.This leads to his generalization of the quantity theory's equation of exchange,MV=PO,to incorporate uncertainty and the speculative demand for money besides risk and the transactions demand for money.There are two such generalizations.Chapter 20 analyzes the labor market and the commodity market.Mathematically,there are two ways of expressing Keynes's first generalization in chapter 20-w/p=mpl/ep or the more convenient w/p=mpl/(mpc+mpi).Unless the elasticity ep=1(ep can range from 0 to 1) or the mpc + mpi=<1,the RHS of both equations will rise .This requires that the money wage also rise.Neoclassical theory requires that the money wage fall.The condition that the elasticity ep equal 1 means the economy is operating on the boundary of the aggregate production possibilities function curve because the labor market clearing condition,w/p=mpl, is an economically efficient outcome.It is thus allocatively efficient and productively efficient.
   
   
   
   
   
   In chapter 21,Keynes presents his generalization of the neoclassical equation of exchange with the money market added to the labor and commodity markets.The mathematical generalization now becomes w/p=mpl/e,where e is the elasticity that"... measures the response of money prices to the quantity of money in an aggregated economy"(GT,p.305-306).Unless e=1,where e can range between 0 and 1 ,as implicitly assumed by neoclassical economists,the RHS of the above equation will rise and it will be impossible for labor,in the aggregate, to cut its money wage as claimed by neoclassical theory in order to reduce unemployment.Again,the money wage will have to rise.
   
   
   
   The final point that needs to be cleared up is that Keynes's aggregate supply function is correctly specified and analyzed mathematically in chapter 20 on p.283 and in a footnote on pp.55-56 of the GT.The reader must be able to apply simple integration to Keynes's derivatives.I give the steps below:
   
   
   
   Go to footnote 1 on p.283 of the GT.Keynes defined P to be expected economic profit.The second line from the bottom of this footnote reads as " = delta P ", which is the same as" = dP".That should actually be " = delta P w subscript" due to either (a) a typographical error made by the printer in the GT or (b) because Keynes felt that it was obvious,since he divided D=Z through by w,to get Dw subscript = Zw subscript,which means that you must divide P by w.P is AUTOMATICALLY DEFINED IN TERMS OF WAGE UNITS.Pw subscript is equal to Dw subscript-N.Thus dP(or dPw subscript)=d(Dw subscript - N) =dDw subscript -dN.Simple integration gives the following result- Pw subscript=Dw subscript-N .Divide through by w and you obtain P=D-wN.Add wN to both sides.You get P+wN=D=pO or Z =D.Z=P+wN.w is the money wage.N is aggregate employment.p is the expected price level.O is real output,which is a function of N.D,the expected aggregate demand function,is thus equal to expected total revenue.Z,the expected aggregate supply function,is equal to total variable cost plus expected economic profit.
   
   The same analysis and result is contained in footnote 2 on pp.55-56 of the GT.Keynes defines the derivative dZw subscript/dN=dphi(N)/dN =phi'(N)=1,where you use "d" instead of " delta " notation used by Keynes.Integrate to obtain Z=wN + C,where C is a constant of integration,after you divide through by w.We know that D=Z by definition and that D=pO from chapter 20.We get wN +C=pO or C=pO-wN once we subtract wN from both sides.By definition,C must be equal to actual profit if p is an actual price and expected profit if p is an expected price.Of course,if P=0,then you get Z=wN = total variable cost.(This is the case of constant returns to labor.Note that Keynes covered this case explicitly at the top of p.284, as well as on p.306 of the GT ,in chapter 21.)This,of course is the mistake that Don Patinkin made continuously from 1976-1989 in 3 books and 5 articles-failing to consider that Z is linear in both the diminishing returns and constant returns to labor cases.Of course,in the case of constant returns to labor,you would get a linear 45 degree cross representing the aggregate supply curve.The same mistake is made by all Post Keynesian economists like Sydney Weintraub, Paul Davidson,Douglas Vickers,Jan Kregel, Victoria Chick,Nevile,Skott and Dutt,etc.They fail to consider that Keynes worked with both cases, diminishing returns to labor as well as constant returns to labor,in his microeconomic analysis contained in chapters 20 and 21 of the GT.It is not surprising that the Post Keynesians can not deal with the technical analysis contained in chapters 20 and 21 of the GT and expressed by Keynes in the form of elasticities.Instead,they build their analysis on the claims of a mathematically illiterate economist named Dennis Robertson.It was Robertson who claimed that Keynes's theory of effective demand(D-Z analysis)was contained in chapter 3 of the GT.All Post Keynesians base their work on the assumption that Robertson was correct.Post Keynesians also confuse the D=Z locus,the aggregate supply curve,with Z,the aggregate supply function.All of these errors can be traced back to the original errors made by Dennis Robertson in correspondence with Keynes in Feb.-Mar.,1935 about the first 17 chapters of the GT.Keynes told Robertson very clearly that the anaysis of his D-Z model was in a chapter called the Employment Function.Chapter 20 of the GT is titled," The Employment Function ".After seventy years it is time for economists to read this chapter upon which KEYNES SAID EVERYTHING DEPENDS.
   The reason why ed <1 ep <1,e <1, and mpc+mpi<=1 is that the decision to invest in long lived durable capital goods ,within an economic environment of technological and financial change,advance,and innovation,thus creating the problem of technological obsolescence,is made under conditions of Keynesian uncertainty or Ellsbergian ambiguity.Neoclassical theory postulates that there is no uncertainty or ambiguity,only risk ,which is universally represented as the standard deviation of a normal probability distribution.This means that aggregate investment expenditure will not be erratic,unstable,and insufficient over time.Involuntary unemployment can't result
   Keynes argues,as does Daniel Ellsberg implicitly,that the assumption of normality is a special case.Hence ,Keynes's generalization that covers ambiguity and/or uncertainty.This means that aggregate investment will be erratic,unstable,unpredictable,and insufficient over time.Involuntary unemployment will result.



3. This version is virtually unreadable, due to its terrible formatting, which clearly no one bothered to even glance at after some kind of machine translation from another format.



4. This book is a lesson in garbage in, garbage out. Keynes starts with numerous false assumptions, and follows them to their false conclusions. Keynes has been proven wrong time and again, not only through the texts of much better economic writers (Hayek, Rothbard, Mises), but also through the plain facts of history.
   
   Keynes' book reads like through the looking glass, where down is up, and everyone is drunk at a mad tea party. Keynes' ideas are precisely what will (and already have) lead society to economic failure and misery. The current financial crisis is only the latest in examples of why Keynes was wrong.



5. The version of Keynes' "The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money" published by Signalman Publishing is the best one for the Kindle because it is specially formatted for easy navigation using your Kindle. Students will especially appreciate using this with your Kindle because you don't have to read it straight through. You can do word lookup and also use the hyperlinked Table of Contents.

2 comments about Macroeconomics.

1. This was a required text for my undergrad macro econ course. We covered almost the entire text and not being much of one for graphs, I wished this book had less of them (it has oodles of them) and instead more applicable references to everyday examples.



2. I was pleased and satisfy with My Macroeconomics book ed8. It is very usedful and recommend for everyone to buy it new from amazon-because your guaranteed with 100% satisfaction!!!I was!!

1 comments about Macroeconomics: Principles, Applications, and Tools (5th Edition) (MyEconLab Series).

1. This book is very efficient and has served as a great source. It is very time friendly and easy to understand. Each chapter has applications and there are multiple appendixs within the book which go beyond the chapter to explain each aspect of the chapter in more detail. The only down side to this book would be that it is not hard cover and the text may be too small for some readers.

1 comments about Monetary Policy Strategy.

1. A very good and detail text about monetary policy.
   
   I bought it because his "The Economics of Money, Banking,...", this one is also good, but no better than the one I read. I download all working papers of Mishkin from NBER, just looks like the details of this book. So, if you read this one, you don't need to read papers.
   
   If you like colorful figures and charts, this one may be disappointing. However, I still recommend Mr.Mishkin's books, although he decided not to be the Federal Governor.

3 comments about Principles Of Macroeconomics.

1. This book is well organized to help student learn macroeconomics. It has the best utilization of pedagogical features (not just graphs, captions and colors) I've ever seen. I found key term call-outs, section reviews, and keypoint outlines to be the most helpful. I appreciate the efforts of reducing the amount of reading necessary to understand the concepts.
   If you are not a lazy student, you will have lots of case studies, news analysis, econ puzzles, and biographies to broaden your breath. All these features are well organized so that you can read efficiently, thanks to the ingenious layouts.
   I am actually here to look for other books by Mr. Taylor to support my current textbooks.



2. This book offers a new path to introduce us in macroeconomic studies, quite innovative if we compare to its congenerous, however very focused on rational expectations contribuitions. The authors suggests we must priorize our comprehension about the long term economic flutuactons, in opposite of the traditional ones, which dedicate the last pages to develop these subjects; in Hall & Talylor's book, the reader is introduced to the basics frameworks and modern theories soon in the firsts chapters. So, the natural consequence of their proposal is the loss of the primacy of Hicks's IS-LM model - as a basic framework tradionaly adopted as necessary to understanding the macroeconomics fundamentals - to the contemporaries economics growth theories, enriching it with many "real world" examples about its approaches. The only restriction I do is the negligence, or a little more emphasis, on other kind of approaches in macroeconomic thought (the post-keynesians contribuitions, for example), causing us the sensation that the macroeconomics reality is restricted to rational expectations workings. For an approach which priorize the evolution of the schools of macroeconomics thought, I recomend the Froyen's book. In spite of that, is an excellent introduction to macroeconomic theory.



3. An introduction to macroeconomics written by the creator of the Taylor Rule. It begins with an overview of economics in general including market economies and the supply/demand model. Later topics include measuring GDP, the spending allocation model, unemployment, productivity, money, inflation, fiscal policy, monetary policy, financial markets, and international trade. The text has bright, eye-catching graphics and convenient review boxes placed throughout the chapters but tends to focus more on the U.S. economy than economies in general.

2 comments about Principles of Macroeconomics + DiscoverEcon code card.

1. The textbook was in excellent condition. The description on the amazon website was right on. Thank you!!



2. I'm currently using the textbook and it's GREAT. The writing in the book is very easy to follow and it is filled with examples and details so that you know you're on the right track. Also, it has a lot of practice problems at the end of each chapter that help a lot prior to an exam.