Macroeconomics

I have looked through a wide variety of books on Macroeconomics and only this one has really satisfied me. It covers all the topics well; clearly, but not in a simplistic manner. And when you have finished studying a chapter and done some of the exercises at the end, you will understand the principles very well. The use of media exercises not only is more applicable to every day life, but also helps to stick the concepts into your brain so they are more easily retained.

With all this said, the book is quite approachable. It is written for the everyday student to understand concepts that are critcial in your everyday life; from investing to decifering the political conversations about the economy/deficit/balance of trade.

I highly recommend this book.

I found this text particulary inspiring the first semester I used it in my introductory macroeconomic class. The manner in which the material is presented makes the text a useful reference guide for business professionals who need to great refresher text to bring them up to date on the basic workings of the economy. Most of my students liked the book.

I have been teaching first to fourth year university macroeconomics since 1988. This is the first principles text I have been inspired by. The content of most traditional texts in macroeconomics is dictated by the needs of majoring students. Also, most authors of economics texts seem to feel the need to write an encyclopaedia. For those teachers of macroeconomics principles courses who want their students to learn something that will be of lasting value in their lives, give serious attention to Peter Kennedy's text. A look at its contents will tell you that it does cover all the usual topics. It is the style of the book which distinguishes it from the competition. Its chapters are brief and to the point. Its emphasis is on understanding the essentials that will allow its readers to understand what is daily going on around them in the economy. It is NOT in any way "low level". It will challenge the most able and interest them in continuing to study the subject, yet it will also reach the majority of its audience and help them to understand some of the basics of macroeconomic analysis. Now, Professor Kennedy, do the same for teachers of microeconomics!

Ten years ago, by coincidence, I saw this book. I bought it, and since then I have recommended it to all my colleagues.
At that time, the book was new and contained all the most recent developments in the journals (it ends with hysteresis - well explained and at that moment a brand new topic in the journals).
But what I find more important is that this is the only book I read where all those journal-stuff was fitted into a coherent frame-work; for the first time I really understood what macro-economics (and their micro foundations) was all about.
Up till then, I had seen only fragmented pieces of macro theory and here these authors came with a coherent view, which would have taken myself years to fit together, and I was sorry that this was not the handbook I had at university.
I don't follow-up this field anymore, and the book has not been updated anymore since then (a pity I think) but I write this review out of gratitute for the insights the authors gave me: I finally realized that in this book all the pieces were fitted together and allowed me to really understand macro-economics.
Personally, I can only recommend it.

Most of the textbooks in macroeconomics (Blanchard, Mankiew and Gordon) focus on basic IS-LM and AS-AD models which are useless in open economies. This book is perfect upgrade for everybody who has read basic macroeconomics textbooks and wants to go further. There is economic history review, everithing is based on imperfect labour markets and salter-swan diagram is perfectly implemented in standard macroeconomics tools together with IS-LM model.

One of the best macroeconomics textbooks in the market.First of all it contains an excellent chronological survey of models. But above all, its approach based on wage bargain and mark-up pricing has great relevance in terms of real world phenomena, in contrast to most mecroeconomic textbooks based in the unrealistic competitive model. The main contribution is to set an scenario for a feasible and intelligent social negotiation and for economic policy, instead of definitive "natural" outcomes of economic performance. I hope the authors keep on updating this book

Jorge Ibarra. National University of Mexico

The reason that this book should rank as one of the most important books that is seldom heard of and rarely read, is simple. Its predictions turned out to be devastatingly accurate within no time at all. Christopher Lingle, while a senior fellow at the National University of Singapore, wrote an article in the International Herald Tribune, which angered the Singaporean government. Faced with the threat of imprisonment, Lingle fled the country and began working on this book in the USA. The book was published in 1997 - one year before the catastrophic collapse of the East Asian economies.

Lingle talks about the mountains of literature being churned out in praise of the 'Asian miracle' and the phenomenal economic progress of the Asian and other Asia-Pacific nations, which displayed double-digit growth rates through most of the 80s and 90s. The author contends that the highest-growth industry seems to be the one publishing books about the 'Asian century'.

Lingle attributes the over-enthusiastic optimism for Asia's 'miracle economies' to the classic faux pas of extrapolating short-term observations. While no one can deny the fact that there has been rapid growth of these economies, he points out that, historically, several regimes with fundamentally flawed institutional arrangements have produced relatively long periods of high growth. Spain under Franco in the 50s and 60s, apartheid South Africa, Soviet Russia and even communist North Korea have all shown periods of sustained economic 'progress' until their inherent weaknesses led to an inevitable collapse.

The inherent contradiction is that true economic advance is a direct function of the human spirit and entrepreneurship, both of which are repressed under regimes, which practice collectivist repression in order to maintain the single-party political status quo. The capitalistic tenets of contract law and property rights are fundamentally individualistic in nature and fly in the face of the policies of East Asian regimes.

Lingle takes the bull by the horns in analyzing how the world reached the consensus that indeed the economies of East Asia were 'miracle' economies. It all began when the Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) buoyed by the success of the Japanese model at the time decided that it was time for some economic evangelism. The extensively bureaucratic and interventionist model championed by the Japanese was at sharp odds with the World Bank endorsed neo-classical view.

In order to showcase their approach as a theoretical model, which could be successfully adopted by other countries in the region, the Japanese government commissioned the World Bank to produce a report that was published in 1993 under the title 'The East Asian Miracle.' So what were the conclusions of this (at the time, enshrined in economic folklore) report? The most important conclusions of this report were that the 'miraculous' growth experienced by the region was a result of macroeconomic stability achieved by pursuance of prudent fiscal and monetary policy. Much to the liking of its Japanese masters, the report admitted that the large-scale market interventions carried out by these governments had contributed to the 'miracle'

Lingle talks about Max Weber's nineteenth century view that Confucianism would retard the modernization of Asia and how that particular contention seemed to be far from the truth when the Asian ascent began in the 1970s. It soon became widely accepted that neo-Confucianism was a source of East Asian dynamism. This neo-Confucianism, created by selective picking and choosing of tenets from the original belief system and transforming them into a distinct political ideology, justifies the pre-eminence of the rights of the community over the rights of the individual. The 'virtuous rulers' theory, (rather than the choice of the citizenry) advocated by neo-Confucians fitted perfectly in the scheme of things for authoritarian patriarchal governments.

Thus extensive market interventions, rejection of the notion of the self-regulating economy and the ability to enforce stability, resulted in the creation of the myth that East Asia's dynamic yet traditional rulers were responsible for the great ascendancy to economic power. This neo-Confucian inspired set of Asian values is championed by what it commonly called the 'Singapore School', which aggressively promotes its own model of development as uniquely Asian, indisputably successful and easily transplantable.

The distinctive neo-Confucian concepts of 'filial piety' and subservience to authority eatly lend themselves to the one-party authoritarian style of rule of leaders like Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore and Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia. The venerated Confucian tradition of strong family bonds, in a modern context translates into what Lingle calls 'dynastic succession and an entrenched policy of nepotism.'

Examples of course, are numerous. From Sukarno and Suharto in Indonesia to the Gandhis and Bandaranaikes in India and Sri Lanka respectively; from the Korean Kims and Cambodian royalty to the Marcoses and the Acquinos of the Philippines, Asia has a long 'tradition' of dynastic democracies. Lingle points out that such nepotism is in direct conflict with modernizing forces such as marketization. They seem to be more compatible with imperial colonialism than modern democracy.

Lingle has again written a book far more valuable than its price.For those interested in Asia,and the econo-politics of the region, this is a must for any library, private or public. It is easily readable even for those not initiated in the arcane language of economics. His initial beliefs were manifested in the last year and a half.

This book was written before the Asian Financial crisis hit in late 97. It basically high lights why the author thinks there will be no Asian Century and instead there will be a Global Century. Lingle believes that the Asia dragons will not be as strong as everyone thinks for the following reasons: There is no free press in all these countries so the same party stays in power; All the countries have basically a one party system. This promotes corruption; there is a lack of transparency in all the banking systems. This leads to insolvency; business decisions are made not based on marketing forces but based on connection; the cost of business includes bribes; and finally since the governments are so involved in their economies, they cannot react quickly enough to changes which take placein the market place. This will not be acceptable in the highly global competitive world of the next century.

Right now based on what we are seeing through out all of Asia, Lingle appears to have known what he was writing about. He called the crisis before it hit. Based on his insightful analysis he shows us that he knows more about Asia than all these other so called Asian experts who were straight lining the Asian miricle into the next century right up to the day before the Asian Crisis hit.

This brief, colorful and inexpensive book permits students to achieve a sense of ownership and participation in their government. At a time when young people feel disconnected and overwhelmed by the complexity of government, The Annual Report summarizes just where the federal government's money comes from - percent by source and exactly where it goes cents per dollar. Major government programs like Medicaid and Medicare, Social Security and Welfare are described simply and succinctly. I have used this book for about three semesters and it is wildly popular among students at graduate and undergraduate levels. All aspects of government are made accessible from the deficit to the decisions of the Supreme Court. The demographics chapter is a masterful work of art simplifying who we are and how we are changing as an American family and a population. The lists of elected officials and administration representatives with how to contact each is a valuable reference. The current affairs commentary represents a seamless connection between daily news and history. The numerous charts and graphs communicate a vast web of statistical data in clear simple terms with a context and a trend apparent and memorable. This book has led more than one student to feel more ready to participate in government by voting, writing to elected officials and thinking about how government should respond to sometimes intractable problems. The changes in the military are reported unblinkingly and in detail. For teachers who like data, for students who like short, simple and interesting, this is an excellent companion book to the standard text in a wide variety of content areas from public administration to community organizing, from history to managing a non-profit. I look forward to the next edition and thank the author and publisher for great layout and design and pithy usable content.

Meredith Bagby, again, "boils it down" for us and "gives it to us quick", as she cuts through the bureaucratic techno-speak we call "government" and puts it into understandable English.

Slater thoroughly examines multiple and diverse theories addressing the whys, whens, and hows of consumption. He captures many of the paradoxes of "consumption" and "culture" without passing judgment on consumption. This book will give you an historical view of the role consumption has played in western societies, as well as an examination of some of consumption's current functions (identity formation, status signification, etc.). An excellent overview text for courses addressing consumption, but also a readable and thought-provoking discourse on consumption.

Very readable, provocative; a superb course textbook. Makes the subject come alive.

I needed a text to teach an economics class with and searched for weeks with little satisfaction. Then I ran across this under utilized text. The writing is "brilliant" and the authors, especially Mr. Myers seem to have a very firm and realistic grasp of the essential concepts of "Economics"

This is an outstanding economics textbook. Can be used as a quick primer on what the basics of the field are all about. I believe that the author of this book is a truly remarkable and extraordinary individual and everyone should listen to him closely.

Currently I'm using this book for my class called Trade and Economic Growth I II. The nuances of microeconomic foundations found in chapters 1 to 5 are used to explain and develop the concepts studied in open economy macroeconomics and international finance; so it is recommended that you understand fully the first three chapters of this book at least to understand the rest. The authors try to explain the concepts as clear as possible; however, you have to derive for yourself the equations that appear in the text, which is a challenge for most first year graduate students who are not yet proficient in using the tools of static/dynamic optimization, etc. A reference on mathematical economics such as Chiang's "Fundamental methods of math. econ.," and "Elements of dynamic optimization," or Simon Blume's "Mathematics for economists" should be kept near at hand. Nevertheless, there are many real-world examples that help clarify matters and make the this book more readable and interesting.

The authors recognized the problems with the way that the subject of open economy macroeconomics has been taught in graduate programs in the past. In particular, there was little agreement and no definitive text that tied together any unified theme. Eclectic reading lists, mainly from the 1960's and the 1970's, were provided on each subject area with major changes in analysis required to shift from one area to another. The counter argument from others in the field was that the modern literature lacked policy relevance. The authors' retort by claiming that the "classic approach" lacks internal consistency and the micro foundations required. Moreover, the older approach has been criticized for failing to deal with dynamics clearly and does not address many of the policy issues that are relevant today. With the exception of two chapters on money the text builds up from a single analytical framework to display several of the key results in international macroeconomics and growth. A rigorous approach based on the micro foundations of macroeconomics is used throughout the text. While this approach may be criticized for putting forward only a Neoclassical method, the authors have made an effort to include models of imperfections and some material based on Keynesian underpinnings. The text gives a current appreciation of the state of the literature in the field and as such is an excellent reference tool. The authors' vigilance in updating the material in the text via the web site is particularly appealing as it keeps it contemporary. For the targeted consumer: the graduate student (like myself) and certainly the academic, the level of sophistication is not prohibitive.

The world leaders in the field of open macroeconomics still maintain the upper hand with this great book. It has no rival in its field. It examines the international monetary system, foreign exchange markets and introduces international economics. A must book for all levels. This book is recognized world wide for its clarity of convey complicated themes with the greatest of ease.

this book explains various aspects of international finance in a simple and lucid manner. the good thing about this book is that you dont have to an expert in economics or international finance to relish its contents. it explains most of the terms and defines them too. even terms like spot and forward rates are explained with ease. a must for the beginners in international finance

I agree with the other reviewer, Macroeconomics by Williamson is a very well written text. It incorporates a large variety of topics in the general framework very well. Much of what I could say would only be redundent as the other reviewer pointed out the highs for this text. The book is very appropriate for a intermediate undergraduate course.

After reading this book no one will ever complain that macroeconomics lacks micro foundations. This book first explains the microeconomics of intertemporal goods and labor markets and goes on to create an intertemporal general equilibrium economy (with two periods for simple exposition). Then Wiliamson shows how growth theory and business cycle theories are applied in this general equilibrium economy. This is by far the most fun and understandible way to teach undergraduates about growth and business cycles at the intermediate level.

Williamson also lays out "stylized facts" of the business cycle, including comovements, and he critiques different business cycle theories based on whether they can replicate those comovements in the data. This book comes closer than any other intermediate text to replicating how modern macroeconomics is done.

Ch 8 which explains Solow and endogenous growth models is by far the most understandible and educational of any text on the market, since Williamson does the models in discrete time rather than continuous time. If you're a professor that wants to teach undergraduates growth theory and/or growth dynamics SO THAT THEY REALLY UNDERSTAND THEM DEEPLY and ENJOY THE LEARNING EXPERIENCE, this is the book to assign.

It's not a a book for some one who wants to become an expert in macroeconomics, but if you are a begginer, or if you want to have a macroeconomic book fpr further review, this is an excellent book.

Is a very interesting book, specially for people who are studing in Latin America, like me.