Principles of Microeconomics

Reviewed by Deniz Gevrek, Professor of Economics, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi on 12/18/22

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

My review is based on the Version 2021 – Revision A. The 2021 revision is invaluable as it includes the coverage of Covid-19, and other global, US-related, and Canadian issues from various micro-economic contexts and perspectives. I liked the placement and content of application boxes in each chapter. The 15-chapter structure is well thought out, it gives flexibility to the instructors who teach 1- or 2-semester microeconomics principles courses. I like the fact that the concept of elasticity is introduced early (in Chapter 4) versus later in some other other texts. Overall, this is a great principles level microeconomics text.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

As per my reading, the information presented in this book is accurate and mostly error-free. Email provided info@lyryx.com in case readers have questions, suggestions, or concerns. I just saw several tiny inconsistencies, for instance, this book is based on Canada, therefore, you can see 309 instances of “labour” spelling, while 7 instances of “labor” spelling.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

By nature, Microeconomics textbooks stay relevant for longer periods of time in terms of theories and concept. The content is contemporary in terms of theories. Moreover, the authors’ 2021 revision adds many contemporary and timely examples such as Covid -19 and 2020 USA election.

Clarity rating: 5

The writing is overall clear, easy to understand, and it follows steps of logic. Economics can be very technical and hard to understand with specific jargon. I liked the way authors explained concepts with relevant examples and in appropriate contexts. This text is based on Canada, therefore, the readers should be prepared to see, for instance “labour” instead of “labor” etc.

Consistency rating: 5

The information was presented consistently in each chapter. Chapters were structured well.
Except for the super-minor labour v. labor inconsistency, I did not identify inconsistency in terms of terminology and/or framework.

Modularity rating: 5

The book is divided in 15 chapters, building blocks. They are well planned and small/concise enough to be combined/presented in different order. Personally, in my many years of teaching, I almost never followed any book with the exact chapter sequence that was originally published.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The within chapter organization and framework is concise. Because every instructor can change the sequence of the chapters covered as well as the number of chapters to be covered, the order with which the chapters presented in the book is not an issue.

Interface rating: 5

The interface is easy to navigate and move around. Found clearly organized and presented charts and graphs.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No grammatical errors are found based on my reading; however, it is almost not viable to have a completely error free text, especially if it is over 450 pages.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I did not encounter any culturally insensitive material.

Comments

This is a well-planned and well-written principles of microeconomics textbook. Material is well designed and presented.

Reviewed by John Cadigan, Professor of Economics, Gettysburg College on 10/5/22

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

The text covers most areas from first semester principles books. I would have liked to see a bit more diversity of topics at the end—maybe environmental or a chapter on health care or education policy—but I think it is good for the basics. I do like the extra chapter—CH2—on theories, data and beliefs because it helps students think in a quantitative mindset and is a good introduction to ‘thinking like an economist’.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

While there may have been some places that I would have worded differently, I was able to understand the authors approach and did not find any errors.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

I think any good micro textbook blends contemporary examples with classic theories. I don’t think any of the substantive theories in the text will need revision—micro is good that way—but of course the contemporary examples will need to be modified as time passes.

Clarity rating: 4

I found the writing to be quite good actually. In the beginning of any econ course there is jargon to get through, and I thought the author did a nice job defining terms. The graphs were clear and even when the topics became more complicated, the presentation was concise and effective.

Consistency rating: 5

I did not find any inconsistencies in the text--i think the framework of each chapter is clear, fits well within the overall structure, and the materials have a logical and consistent ordering.

Modularity rating: 4

I think it is hard to jump around in microeconomics because the material builds on itself. That said, the typical sections on the theory of the firm or consumer theory or even market failures for that matter are easily moved. This textbook would be easy to use if I wanted to go through a different order than normal.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

See above, I think the organization and structure of the book is well done.

Interface rating: 4

I did not have any problems with the interface.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I think the grammar is fine.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

I did not find the text to be culturally insensitive or offensive in any way. We can always to better in terms of providing more inclusive examples.

Comments

I think the organization and structure are sound, the content clear and concise, and find this to be a pretty good principles book.

Reviewed by Subhadra Ganguli, Instructor, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania on 1/22/22

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The book is comprehensive and covers all essential definitions, explanations, graphs as needed. However more examples will be good. There are very recent examples in the text e.g. Covid -19 elated and that is very useful

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The book represents the level at which students should read and learn about Microeconomics yet not formal to read. Freshmen students who take up the course would like reading this.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The book needs regular updating as the title is dynamic and is evolving over time. The last update was in 2020 and some more recent examples and updates will have the quality of the text book enhanced manifold.

Clarity rating: 5

The text is clearly written without any ambiguity and has a separate section in every chapter, at the end, for students to look up the vocab introduced in the chapter. That is very helpful.

Consistency rating: 5

There is consistency in the lay out, terminology use, acronym use, and in the context of the general framework of the text.

Modularity rating: 4

There is room for improvement in the visual layout of the book as content can be broken into more smaller units/sub units and sections/subsections. This will help in teaching by sections/units; setting homework,creating videos for lessons in online etc. .

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The organization can be revisited by using smaller units/sections etc . Pics or photos or drawings apart from graphs will bring about color and catch the eyes of our freshmen students. The information is written clearly and logically.

Interface rating: 4

There are no such issues. No chance of getting confused or distracted while reading.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

I have not noticed any grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

I wold personally like to see examples from different countries for an introductory course like this to make students aware of the world and how diversified it is when we come to discuss Economics.

Comments

Excellent selection of chapters and a good asset for students to learn.

Reviewed by Eric Dodge, Professor of Economics, Hanover College on 1/13/21

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The text comprehensively covers the standard material in a first course in microeconomics. In addition, Chapter 2 is an excellent addition to the standard textbook by introducing students to data, relationships between variables, and even econometrics! While there is no comprehensive index or glossary, at the end of each chapter the key terms are defined.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

The microeconomic content is accurate and unbiased and I did not see any errors. I would have liked to see how externalities also create deadweight loss, including where it is seen in a graph.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Examples that are used to demonstrate concepts or explain microeconomic phenomena are quite relevant. There are also timely examples using the Great Recession and the coronavirus pandemic.

Clarity rating: 5

The writing is clear and very appropriate for the intended audience. The graphics are also quite easy to understand and visually demonstrate the concepts and greatly help students understand the material.

Consistency rating: 5

The text is consistent and the coverage of the material logically flows together.

Modularity rating: 5

I think that the text could be divided into smaller sections, or modules, but the microeconomic theory is usually taught as material that builds upon concepts already covered.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The material is logically and clearly presented.

Interface rating: 5

The PDF version of the text had no problems for my browser.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I saw no grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The text is very inclusive and culturally appropriate.

Comments

While this text is written for a Canadian audience, I see it as easily adaptable and useful in the American marketplace.

Reviewed by Daniel Lee, Assistant Professor of Economics and Leadership, James Madison University on 11/23/20

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The textbook covers all the topics of principles of micro across a wide berth of pedagogies

Content Accuracy rating: 3

Book is narrow enough in scope that some statements can be considered inaccurate, for instance on p.264, "A conjecture is a belief that one firm forms about the strategic reaction of another competing firm", Conjecture extends outside of game theory, and even if we limit our scope of inquiry to strategic interaction, nothing about conjecture limits itself to a firm.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 3

Book is as relevant as standard texts in the field

Clarity rating: 3

Textbook can be a little dry at times, a little advanced (for an intro class) at times

Consistency rating: 5

Book is consistent both internally and with accepted jargon in economics

Modularity rating: 3

Some of the more advanced chapters tend to run on (Ch 8 and up) but not problematically so and the sub sectioning provides for ample stopping points

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 3

I might have organized the textbook differently, but as pointed out in the content section, principles courses can cover several different pedagogies and topics, so there's nothing inherently problematic with this organizational structure.

Interface rating: 5

I personally used the .pdf copy which was straightforward to use and navigate.

Grammatical Errors rating: 3

I did not find any errors, but to be granted a 5 would require a more thorough copy editing than I can provide

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

I particularly appreciated how the book made sure to cover ethical concerns within an economic framework

Comments

After reading, I would recommend more as a supplement than as a main text

Reviewed by Huong Nguyen, Assistant Professor, LSUE on 4/1/20

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

The text covers most of all areas and ideas of the subject appropriately and provide an effective index and/or glossary. It would be better if the authors can include some important Microeconomics concepts such as scarcity which will lead any society to address the three fundamental economics questions what, how and for whom (can be included in the "Introduction to Economics"), oligopoly- this will help students distinguish between monopoly and oligopoly (can be included along with monopoly- ) and etc.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

Content is accurate, error-free and unbiased.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

Content is up-to-date, but not in a way that will quickly make the text obsolete within a short period of time. The text is written and/or arranged in such a way that necessary updates will be relatively easy and straightforward to implement. However, there are some parts related more to Macroeconomics than Microeconomics such as aggregate output, growth, business cycles and etc.(these should be in Macroeconomics course).

Clarity rating: 4

The text is written in lucid, assessible prose, and provides adequate context for any jargon/technical terminology used. However, it is written in a little higher level considering as Principle of Microeconomics. Students who are non-business major taking it as elective course might have problems with understanding it.

Consistency rating: 5

The text is internally consistent in terms of terminology and framework

Modularity rating: 5

The text is easily and readily divisible into smaller reading sections that can be assigned at different points within the course (i.e., enormous blocks of text without subheadings should be avoided). The text should not be overly self-referential, and should be easily reorganized and realigned with various subunits of a course without presenting much disruption to the reader.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The topics in the text are presented in a logical, clear fashion. However, I agree with the other reviewer that it is written and organized in an old-fashion way.

Interface rating: 5

The text is free of significant interface issues, including navigation problems, distortion of images/charts, and any other display features that may distract or confuse the reader.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The text contains no grammatical errors

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The text is not culturally insensitive or offensive in any way. It should make use of examples that are inclusive of a variety of races, ethnicities, and backgrounds.

Comments

Overall, this textbook is great, however, it could be better if it is written in a clearer and easier way so that any students (including the non-business major ones taking it as an elective course) can understand. Also some important Microeconomics concepts and models should be included to improve the content and prepare students in taking the next level of Microeconomics (such as immediate or advanced levels).

Reviewed by Melissa Hendrickson, Lecturer, North Carolina State University on 6/20/17

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The stated purpose of this text is to cover materials in a first introductory economics course. The text covers the typical content areas for an introductory microeconomics course. However, it appears to be designed for economics majors and not the standard student that I would find in my introductory course. It jumps right into the weeds of economic modeling in the first chapter and goes deeper into them in the second chapter. My students would be lost by this time and would likely not continue.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

This text is accurate and error free but examples and data tables tend to center around the Canadian economy.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The content is current and the data is relevant though with a decidedly Canadian flavor. To keep it so, tables and charts would need to be updated periodically to match the changing economy.

Clarity rating: 2

The authors clearly know economics but telling it in a way that would be understood by a 1 semester-only economics student is a stretch.

Consistency rating: 5

The framework is consistent across all chapters.

Modularity rating: 5

The module groupings make sense and are typical of an economics text.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The book follows a logical structure and is organized appropriately.

Interface rating: 3

Some graphs and figures have challenges (see chapters 1 - 3, for instance). The words are written over the top of the numbers making both hard to read.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 3

I don’t think significant thought has been given to the students in today’s universities. The content is excellent but it is written in an old-style state the facts, give an example and move on format. Perfect for imparting knowledge but not so great for holding interest of today’s student who is more familiar with story-based telling and integrative learning.

Comments

I think this text would be best suited for a course designed to teach economics majors the basics of economics. I’m just not sure that a student taking one economics course would find a reaction function useful in their everyday understanding of economics.