Foundations of Microeconomics plus MyEconLab Student Access Kit, Second Edition

Rating:
Summary: A good survey
Review: 'Foundations of Microeconomics' by Robin Bade and Michael Parkin is an interesting text for an introductory course in Microeconomics. The primary academic division at the beginning level of economics is the Micro/Macro-economic divide; often it is taught as a two-semester sequence for students going into economics, political science, history, business or any other such discipline that requires a thorough grounding in economic theory and principles.

Bade and Parkin are aware from decades of teaching experience that students often get lost in a sea of detail, and that many introductory economics texts (as do the introductory texts of many fields) attempt to do too much too quickly in introducing their subjects. Bade and Parkin organise each chapter, therefore, around only a few core principles - three or four at most. They have also built into this text a very extensive set of charts and diagrams to demonstrate the points that are being explained in the text.

Each chapter begins with a checklist, and ends with checkpoints (which follow on from section checkpoints along the way). Included in this is a featured called the 'Eye on...' feature - these are small articles that highlight practical, real life situations in which the principles under discussion apply. They may be domestic or international in scope, and may be current or significant in history.

The book is adaptable to many different uses - the introductory pages highlight four alternative means of focus that the book can take: a traditional micro-economics course approach; a public policy emphasis; a business emphasis; or a shorter policy emphasis. Each of these build on core principles in the early chapters, and then expand from there depending upon the primary interests of the class or reader.

The layout of the book is visually interesting and lively. The use of colour, photographs, and charts and graphs adds tremendously to the feel of the text. The text is sharp and concise, without sacrificing clarity or content.

One very important section that I wish would have more detail and emphasis is the appendix to chapter 1 - Making and Using Graphs. Interpreting and drawing graphs seems to be the single largest problem area for students I tutor in microeconomics, so more emphasis on this part would be appreciated, particularly as the skills given in this section carry throughout the entire book. As a primary tool, the relegation of this to an appendix sends somewhat of a mixed message of the importance of graphs. Perhaps renaming this as a chapter in its own right would help somewhat, with more detail and examples (much like in mathematics, it is in the repetition of the exercises that the students gain mastery of the concepts). Students are indeed called upon to do many exercises during the course of this text (learning by doing, rather than just through reading), but the early grounding in graphical representation is critical.

Rating:
Summary: A good survey
Review: 'Foundations of Microeconomics' by Robin Bade and Michael Parkin is an interesting text for an introductory course in Microeconomics. The primary academic division at the beginning level of economics is the Micro/Macro-economic divide; often it is taught as a two-semester sequence for students going into economics, political science, history, business or any other such discipline that requires a thorough grounding in economic theory and principles.

Bade and Parkin are aware from decades of teaching experience that students often get lost in a sea of detail, and that many introductory economics texts (as do the introductory texts of many fields) attempt to do too much too quickly in introducing their subjects. Bade and Parkin organise each chapter, therefore, around only a few core principles - three or four at most. They have also built into this text a very extensive set of charts and diagrams to demonstrate the points that are being explained in the text.

Each chapter begins with a checklist, and ends with checkpoints (which follow on from section checkpoints along the way). Included in this is a featured called the 'Eye on...' feature - these are small articles that highlight practical, real life situations in which the principles under discussion apply. They may be domestic or international in scope, and may be current or significant in history.

The book is adaptable to many different uses - the introductory pages highlight four alternative means of focus that the book can take: a traditional micro-economics course approach; a public policy emphasis; a business emphasis; or a shorter policy emphasis. Each of these build on core principles in the early chapters, and then expand from there depending upon the primary interests of the class or reader.

The layout of the book is visually interesting and lively. The use of colour, photographs, and charts and graphs adds tremendously to the feel of the text. The text is sharp and concise, without sacrificing clarity or content.

One very important section that I wish would have more detail and emphasis is the appendix to chapter 1 - Making and Using Graphs. Interpreting and drawing graphs seems to be the single largest problem area for students I tutor in microeconomics, so more emphasis on this part would be appreciated, particularly as the skills given in this section carry throughout the entire book. As a primary tool, the relegation of this to an appendix sends somewhat of a mixed message of the importance of graphs. Perhaps renaming this as a chapter in its own right would help somewhat, with more detail and examples (much like in mathematics, it is in the repetition of the exercises that the students gain mastery of the concepts). Students are indeed called upon to do many exercises during the course of this text (learning by doing, rather than just through reading), but the early grounding in graphical representation is critical.