3 comments about Theory of Price.

1. It is amazing how this book is still valuable and such a few people know that. This is a book which every undergraduate student of Economics (actually every economist) should know, because it is pretty well written and it gives all the basic intuition for Microeconomics in a very good humour style - something I thought hardly possible in this field. It starts with the consumer theory and then goes through the firm theory. Many things we learn from Varian and Pindyck and Rubinfeld are there. I recommend this book mainly because you can learn very difficult things having fun, and the level of formality is very appropriate even for those who do not have a first year calculus (the tough stuff is in the appendix). I regret not having known this book before.



2. I totally agree with the gentleperson from Brazil.

   The traditional heart of academic economics is about how relative prices are determined: the theory of the household, of the business firm, and of how the two interact via markets. This is the best exposition there is of that traditional heart. (The only other book to which it can be compared is McCloskey's "The Applied Theory of Price", regrettably also out of print.)

   Stigler was also one of the best scholars ever on the history of economic ideas, resulting in this book's many delightful detours. Finally, he was a masterful and witty writer. If Churchill had been an economist, he would have written something like the Theory of Price.




3. Having been an advisor to transition economies on transforming their tax systems to assist in the move to a market economy, I can unequivocally state that this book is the clearest explanation of why individuals and firms benefit from the freedom of the market. As one of my good friends from the London School of Economics says, `Stigler is light on math but heavy on economics.'

1 comments about The Jacksonian Economy.

1. Not particularly knowledgable about economics, this book proved to be less than an easy read for me. The subject matter, however, was fascinating. It is thanks to the simple style in which Mr. Temin tries to write, that I was able to finish the book and enjoy it for all that it taught me. While he doesn' talk about simple issues, he does talk about important ones.

1 comments about The Failure of Wall Street: How and Why Wall Street Fails -- And What Can Be Done About It.

1. The book highlights numerous failings of wall street, and the role regulators play in disciplining the street. A useful read for all kind of investors, sophisticated or otherwise. It is also a useful read for current and aspiring wall street employees, as it will lift the veil of some of the dodgy business that invariable happens on the street, hopefully keeping them on the straight and not too narrow (as rightly said in the book many times, risk is risky).

1 comments about Analyzing Modern Business Cycles: Essays Honoring Geoffrey H. Moore.

1. If you're interested in why there are business cycles, and how to understand what's going on, this is a must read. Top of the class.

No comments about Microeconomics: Theory and Applications.

3 comments about Microeconomic Theory: Concepts and Connections (with Economic Applications).

1. The book arrived about 2 weeks after I bought it, from the United States to Mexico, so I consider it was a very good service. I recomend to send the books into a harder covering because I noticed that my book was damaged in a certain level because of the transportation within a very weak covering; may be the price would be a little higher but it's worthwhile. The book was in good conditions.



2. This text was used in a graduate level microeconomics class I took last semester. We frequently found mistakes in the formulas, mistakes in the odd answers that are provided for problems, mistakes in the text's explanations. Answers to the odd problems often took the long, strange way to arrive at an answer. Or they were incorrect. For example, optimization problems often were solved without partial differentiation, using suspect math.
   
   Some chapters were convoluted and confusingly written--for the second half of the semester the professor frequently started class with an apologetic "I know the chapter on ___ was confusing and hard to follow: these are the key points you should have gotten out of it..."
   
   In addition, some of the theory such as that found in the public goods chapter is really unusual--not consistent with the accepted interpretations of other economists. While the focus on providing a format useful to visual and graphical learners is nice, the verbal half of those explanations was often lacking. And we also found a couple of incorrectly drawn graphs to confuse things further. Walter Nicholson's 9th edition Microeconomic Theory: Basic Principles and Extensions is far superior! I used it constantly when Wetzstein's text left me once again guessing...
   
   As a first edition, I'm sure the book will improve in future editions. But geez, I worked in publishing before I went back to school--and the content of this book was not proofed very well. I was surprised, especially since it is published by Thompson-South Western.



3. I'm purchasing my own copy of this book because of very positive reviews from students in the author's classes (there may be some bias there, of course).
   
   It is used to teach two micro econ classes in the Ag Econ department - one split level and one graduate-only, I think. Students from other applied econ fields also take the courses for grad credit (like Consumer Econ) so it is broadly applicable material.
   
   The students say that it has everything they need for their theses/dissertations and to prepare for comps. I have borrowed the book several times and I find that the explanations are usually good, but a one or two topics leave you feeling like you only skimmed the surface and perhaps got more opinion/conclusion than fact.
   
   Overall I do not hesitate to buy a used copy as a reference book for $20-40. It's a good microecon theory book, especially for those who want more than the intro and non-math theory books. My understanding and brief experience is that the math does become complicated though if you're not good with maxtrix algebra and that sort of thing.

No comments about Economic Evolution and Equilibrium: Bridging the Gap (Lecture Notes in Economics and Mathematical Systems).

No comments about The Economics of Contracts: Theories and Applications.

No comments about Agriculture, Food Security, Poverty and Environment: Essays on Post-reform India.

1 comments about Principles of Microeconomics (5th Edition).

1. This is an introductory textbook on microeconomics. When one reads some intro text on micro, you will find nothing new. But the stress of this book is the scientific method behind economic theories, associated with many real life examples, which are good for those who would like to learn applications. There are excellent discussions on property right and transaction cost constraints, that one may not be able to find in some other texts. But this book doesn't include indifference curve analysis, which should be one major topic in intro micro. In summary, it is not just a standard textbook.