Why Read It?
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It explains concepts clearly and uses relevant examples to convey meaning.
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Covers all the main macroeconomic topics, including science, data, money, inflation, unemployment, short-run and long-run factors, and the business cycle.
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Incorporates real-world issues and data throughout, rather than being overly academic.
Getting Started
Macroeconomics is a widely adopted intermediate-level textbook that communicates the principles of macroeconomics in a comprehensible style.
It integrates many learning tools such as case studies, information boxes, graphs, mathematical notes, chapter summaries, key concepts, questions for review, problems, and applications, to ensure it can be used by students and teachers, as well as those needing a refresher on the topic.
Author
N. Gregory Mankiw (b. 1958) is Professor of Economics at Harvard University. He has been a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, and an Adviser to the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and the Congressional Budget Office. From 2003 to 2005 he served as Chairman of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers.
Context
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A focused and practical textbook that balances its coverage between short- and the long-run macroeconomic issues.
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Integrates Keynesian and classical ideas to give a pedagogical overview of the issues.
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Uses a variety of simple models to put its points across.
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Examines the economic behavior of human beings as well as nations and the economic interactions between nations, including aspects of the economy such as money, savings, growth, stocks and flows, inflation, unemployment, taxation, and national budgets.
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Ensures that the math is understandable and applicable.
Impact
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Examines the long run when prices are flexible before moving on to the short run when prices are sticky.
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Emphasizes the empirical and experiential throughout, to ensure relevancy.
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Is clear about the limits regarding what economists really know about the economy.
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Analyzes how changes in policies and variables affect aggregate functions.
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Discusses key concepts such as the IS-LM model, Solow steady state, and the Keynesian consumption function.
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Presents the economic ideas of one of the key figures in the Bush White House.
Quotations
“I incorporate many of the contributions of the classical economists before Keynes and the new classical economists of the past three decades.”
“Instead of pretending that there is one model that is complete enough to explain all facets of the economy, I encourage students to learn how to use and compare a set of prominent models.”
“The basic principles of macroeconomics do not change from decade to decade, but the macroeconomist must apply these principles with flexibility and creativity to meet changing circumstances.”
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