Microeconomics and Behavior

Rating:
Summary: promising, but sliding into mediocrity
Review: 'Microeconomics and Behavior' is considered a good intermediate level microeconomics textbook where most other texts are too basic or too advanced. Unfortunately, buyers are better off buying the older 3rd edition. The new 4th edition is not noticeably improved on its predecessor. For some reason, the editors have decided to leave out all the appendices (which were in the 3rd edition) and have them posted on a web site. The appendices were useful mathematical extensions for more enthusiastic and able students. This slimming is claimed to be in the interests of creating a more 'focused' textbook, but it's sad to see yet another promising microeconomics text become added to the swelling ranks of mediocrity.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating
Review: A must for who is genuinely interested in UNDERSTANDING and ENJOY the basis of neo-classical theory. Better than any other other book!

Rating:
Summary: Judgment, Choice and Rationality
Review: As of late, microeconomic and macroeconomic theory has been incorporating social, psychological and social-psychological theory and concepts into the fold. This makes sense, for the quantification sans-psychology (social psychology) of analysis has been poor.

This author is well-versed in this area and articulates well the concepts which are important. However, as my colleagues have stated, the book does leave much to be desired in the mathematical-sense.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Judgment, Choice and Rationality (defined).

This book should be included in undergraduate curriculum.

Five stars because it accomplishes what it was designed for (non-mathematical approach to microeconomics).

Regards,
Tyler Markowsky

Rating:
Summary: Judgment, Choice and Rationality
Review: As of late, microeconomic and macroeconomic theory has been incorporating social, psychological and social-psychological theory and concepts into the fold. This makes sense, for the quantification sans-psychology (social psychology) of analysis has been poor.

This author is well-versed in this area and articulates well the concepts which are important. However, as my colleagues have stated, the book does leave much to be desired in the mathematical-sense.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Judgment, Choice and Rationality (defined).

This book should be included in undergraduate curriculum.

Five stars because it accomplishes what it was designed for (non-mathematical approach to microeconomics).

Regards,
Tyler Markowsky

Rating:
Summary: promising, but sliding into mediocrity
Review: at first glance the 750 pages of the book made me shiver. but the contents are very comprehensive a the flow is good. many examples will guide you through to more complicated topics. accompaning study guide by james halteman is not needed. -> waste of money

Rating:
Summary: clear insights in the world of microecenomics
Review: at first glance the 750 pages of the book made me shiver. but the contents are very comprehensive a the flow is good. many examples will guide you through to more complicated topics. accompaning study guide by james halteman is not needed. -> waste of money

Rating:
Summary: where's the math?
Review: I'm studying out of this book for my intermediate micro course. Simply put, the text is good (but unremarkable) for what it is: a no-nonsense bridge between the usual undergraduate principles course and graduate course in microeconomic theory. However, I can't help but feel that Frank skims off too much math in the name of accessibility. This won't help the reader looking to go further in the subject, i.e., grad or b-school. This would be okay if the appendices packed the math, but this isn't the case: the appendices are on-line at the publisher's web site, which pretty much means if you want to follow the math, you need to be near a computer. A somewhat "mathier" text, that I highly recommend, is the latest edition of Varian's Intermediate Microeconomics.

Rating:
Summary: Better than average
Review: In response to the previous reviews: It is true that this text does fit neatly between the "mathematical" (read: hard) and the "wordy" (read: easy) alternatives texts available on the market today. It is also true that it is disappointing (and annoying) to see the mathematical appendices shipped off to a website (which readers then have to print out for themselves!).

However, a virtually unique virtue of this text that has not been mentioned so far is the supplementary chapters, "The Economics of Information and Choice Under Uncertainty", "Explaining Tastes: The Importance of Altruism and Other Nonegoistic Bheavior", "Cognitive Limitations and Consumer Behavior" (very good), and "Government". These chapters really distinguish the book. They are intellectually (and I mean that it the broad sense) stimulating and challenging. Thus, for the student who is genuinely interested in UNDERSTANDING (as opposed to memorising) the basis of neo-classical theory, it a must.

In my opinion there are a few annoying omissions (e.g., Pigovian taxes/subsidies with respect to externalities, and bilateral monopolies in labour markets), but then again, others would no doubt object to the inclusion of these topics.

Overall, the text is very well written, user-friendly and, more importantly, intellectually stimulating thanks largely to the supplementary chapters. I just hope they're not shipped off to some website too.

Rating:
Summary: Mathematical--no. Fascinating--yes!
Review: It's rare to find a text as enjoyable to read as Frank's in any subject, let alone microeconomics. The reader looking for the standard calculus-based, mathematical approach to micro should look elsewhere (Jehle and Reny is a great place to start). That's simply not the point of this text--the point is to provide the insight behind the models, as well as to promote critical thinking about the shortcomings of the traditional assumptions economists make. This text, combined with Jehle and Reny if one desires rigor as well, provides FAR more than any other single or multiple text combination available.

Rating:
Summary: Mathematical--no. Fascinating--yes!
Review: It's rare to find a text as enjoyable to read as Frank's in any subject, let alone microeconomics. The reader looking for the standard calculus-based, mathematical approach to micro should look elsewhere (Jehle and Reny is a great place to start). That's simply not the point of this text--the point is to provide the insight behind the models, as well as to promote critical thinking about the shortcomings of the traditional assumptions economists make. This text, combined with Jehle and Reny if one desires rigor as well, provides FAR more than any other single or multiple text combination available.