Principles of Macroeconomics - 2e

Reviewed by Richard Paulsen, Assistant Professor, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania on 1/27/22

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The book covers all topics that I would expect to see in a Principles of Macroeconomics textbook.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

Explanations of concepts in this book are accurate and concise.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The policy discussion and coverage in this book as of January 2022 includes discussion up through the Trump presidency.

Clarity rating: 5

The book is well-written and understandable by college freshman. Explanations are concise but sufficiently thorough.

Consistency rating: 5

The book follows a consistent framework throughout all chapters.

Modularity rating: 5

The modularity of this textbook is consistent with other books that are not open source in this subject area.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

I think the topics are presented in a logical manner, similar to many mainstream textbooks in this area.

Interface rating: 5

I have not encountered any issues navigating through this textbook.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I have not encountered any grammatical errors in using this textbook.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The examples presented in this book are relatively diverse, and I have not encountered cultural insensitivities.

Overall I feel this is a high quality book for teaching Principles of Macroeconomics and will consider using this book the next time I teach the course!

Reviewed by Mitch Roose, Instructor, Kirkwood Community College on 10/1/21

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The text is thorough in its coverage of gross domestic product, unemployment, inflation, and fiscal and monetary policy. The pros and cons associated with global trade are also explained very well.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I found no errors in the material presented. The book is fair in covering those areas where economists may disagree on the best way to proceed. I especially enjoyed the analysis of similarities and differences in the tax policies of the Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush, Obama, and Trump administrations.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

Most of the economic data presented is up to and including 2016 so the data is current. I also feel the information is presented in such a way that tables and graphs can be easily updated.

Clarity rating: 5

The text features "Clear it Up" and "Bring It Home" sections where the concepts presented are either tied to what is going on in the economy or maybe just an alternate explanation of the concept. These two features will be very popular with students I feel.

Consistency rating: 5

The chapters are consistent in terms of length and material coverage. Each chapter is approximately 25 to 30 pages in length and contains four to six sections. I think this is good choice to keep the amount of content in each chapter similar.

Modularity rating: 5

The author's use of the "Link it Up" sections in the reading keeps the flow going. If the reader wants more information on the topic under discussion, they can choose the link that is highlighted in this section. If they want to keep reading, they can make that choice as well. I like visually how that choice is displayed to the reader.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The topics are presented in exactly the way I like to structure my course. I usually start with introductory concepts and then proceed to gross domestic product, unemployment, inflation, the monetary system, and then fiscal policy. This is exactly how the text is structured.

Interface rating: 5

I had no issues navigating the text. The charts and graphics used are not overly bright or eye-catching but they do display the data in a clear, straight forward manner.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I found no grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I feel the text is very fair in this area. The authors do an excellent job especially in the areas of unemployment and inflation presenting how these two major issues do not affect all races, ethnicities, and backgrounds equally. Their analysis of unemployment broken down by gender, age, and race is especially good.

Reviewed by Mohammad Idrees, Adjunct Professor, Holyoke Community College on 6/18/21

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The book delivered the basic subject of macroeconomics comprehensively for 101 Economics courses without a flavor of symmetrically commercial textbook fan fair

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The book covers the material accurately for introductory economics course

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

No change in the fundamentals and principles of economics since the year 1877 publication of the first printed textbook on economics, Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith. Keeping the fundamentals intact, the book also covers contemporary issues such as globalization and digital currency

Clarity rating: 5

The textbook is written for delivering subject matters with subheading clearly without a fun fair of a commercial textbook

Consistency rating: 5

It is systematically and rationally consistent from introducing the basic principles of economics to the changing shape of money

Modularity rating: 5

You may design the course by choosing subject matters under different chapter headings and subheading. For example, after first 3 chapters which are fundamentals, you may jump to chapter 6 without loosing and others for making and designing the course the way you want, yet should be comprehensive.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

Although chapters are organized from basic to complex, yet it allows flexibility in choosing chapters and subject matters for modelling your course. However, numbering of chapters are confusing. In print version chatters are numbered 6 to 21, but in pdf version the same chapters are numbered chapters 19 to 34. Confusing

Interface rating: 1

None

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

Do not find any grammatical error

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

Economics is a universally applicable subject, yet it is also the study of have and have not without a cultural bias.

Two points: 1. Chapter numbering in print and digital versions should be the same 2. Test Bank has much fewer questions than a commercial textbook. Professor not having a large test bank is limited choosing same questions over and over again for a large class

Reviewed by Gabriel Mathy, Assistant Professor, American University on 4/9/21

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The book covers all the topics one would want to cover in a principles of macroeconomics book.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

There are some issues with the history of thought in the first chapter. Adam Smith was not the first to begin the formal study of economics! But these are not serious and many textbooks have these issues.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Many good up-to-date examples.

Clarity rating: 5

The book is very clear.

Consistency rating: 5

Very consistent throughout.

Modularity rating: 4

The chapters fit together but the modularity could be better.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The book is well organized.

Interface rating: 4

The interface is fine, though it looks homemade and not professionally typeset. For a free book that's not surprising!

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I saw no grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The book seems culturally sensitive.

Figures look to be made on a home computer in Microsoft Word. But overall I liked it a lot! Much better than most books that cost hundreds of dollars.

Reviewed by Jennifer Elias, Assistant Professor, Radford University on 6/25/20

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

As with most textbooks, there were more chapters than instructors can cover in one class. I used the book last semester and assigned 12 chapters - not all of them the complete chapters. Some instructors might want more discussion of stock markets but I didn't miss it. That said, I would have liked a more technical treatment of price controls and taxes and subsidies. There is not enough discussion and deadweight loss is mentioned but there is no calculation given.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

I found the content to be accurate, mostly error-free, and unbiased - if anything the chapters comparing the different schools of thought are too much additional information.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 3

Usually, I prefer books that make less of an attempt to be "current" because they quickly become dated. For example, the Great Recession no longer seems as relevant as it did 5-7 years ago. In this case, the authors do use the Great Recession as an example in several instances but it's possible to work around that (especially if you skip the chapters on different schools of thought.

Clarity rating: 4

The prose is clear and there is limited jargon. Some of the chapters are a little lengthy (The Supply and Demand Chapter is *really* long) for principles students but the language itself is fine and instructors can break up the chapters into smaller sections pretty easily.

Consistency rating: 4

The text was internally consistent.

Modularity rating: 4

Although several of the chapters are too long, it is easy to assign parts of them as they are not completely interdependent. I had a bigger problem with skipping the chapters on Keynesian and Neoclassical perspective but there simply wasn't enough time.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 3

The organization presented the greatest challenge for me in adapting this book to my existing course structure. The first chapter did not really present the building blocks of economics. It includes economies of scale and underground economies but doesn't mention incentives or opportunity costs. The next chapter touches lightly on trade but really focuses in on consumer choice, including budget constraints and utility. This would seem more appropriate for a micro class. Trade (comparative and absolute advantage) doesn't come up again until Chapter 20. As mentioned above, the discussion on price controls in very limited while there is an entire chapter devoted to elasticity. Nonetheless, all of these problems are completely manageable.

Interface rating: 5

The interface worked well. I didn't love the font but that's extremely subjective.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I don't remember any grammatical errors (or at least no glaring ones).

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I did not find the book to be culturally insensitive.

My students seemed to like this book and I found it easy to work with. The part that I found most problematic was the way the AS/AD model was presented using "Say's Law" and "Keynes' Law." There were too many curves for most principles students to consider, in my opinion.

Reviewed by Shengnan Fang, Full-time faculty, Linn-Benton Community College on 6/17/20

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This textbook not only covers the major content for principles level class, but also introduces chapters related to the impact of government borrowings, international trade and globalization and protectionism. The index is hyperlinked, which is useful and efficient to locate the chapter accurately. Each chapter begins with a real world economic example or question in "Bring it Home" section, and it also ends with a detail explanations related to the examples or questions in "Bring it Home". This layout is efficient and helpful for students to catch up the application of the chapter content. Key terms, concepts and summary at the end of each chapter are also useful to help student better catch the main points.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

The content is accurate. However, I want to point out that the graphs in Chapter 3 of Demand and Supply are little bit messy, especially on Page 53. The students might be confused to see the graph at the first time. In my opinion, it might be not necessary to put all the dots on the graph, and the numbers of arrows are more than needed. And this also shows on Page 48 and 49. You have already shown the demand schedule and supply schedule in tables, it might be much clearer to show two dots on the graph to explain how to draw the curves. I think it might be a good idea to switch Chapter 4 and Chapter 5. After introducing Chapter 3, it might be consistent for the students to learn about elasticity, rather than introduce labor and financial markets.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

This book's content will stay up-to-date for while. And the examples at the beginning of each chapter is pretty attractive and relevant to the topic.

Clarity rating: 4

Overall, the text is written in lucid and accessible prose. But I still want to point out the layout of Chapter 3. It might be better to move Figure 3.2 on Page 48 to Page 47, which is easier to student to understand how to draw a demand curve based on the demand schedule. At the end of Page 51, it might be better to move the title 3.2 to next page. Too many pairs of price and quantity in graphs of Chapter 3 might be a little bit messy.

Consistency rating: 4

The book is consistent in terms of terminology and framework.

Modularity rating: 5

There are 21 chapters in this textbook. I think it might be a little bit lengthy for my students. Chapter 18 is related to the government borrowing and I think it might be reasonable to put this chapter as a topic in Chapter 17, where it introduces government fiscal policies.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 3

Each chapter is well organized. I like the "Introduction" at the beginning of each chapter. It highlights the questions needed to understand and gives me a guideline to go through the content. However, Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 can be combined together as an introduction of Economics. Chapter 10 introduces The International Trade and Capital Flows, and Chapter 20 also talks about International Trade, which might makes students confused about the differences in these two chapters.

Interface rating: 5

Download the textbook online is easy and the hyperlinks and QR codes in "Link It Up" section work well.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I cannot recall any grammatical errors in the textbook.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I think there is no culturally offensive content.

As an instructor to community college students, I think the content of this textbook is up-to-date and easy to go through. However, for macroeconomics, I think 21 chapters might be lengthy for my students. For the section of "Link-It-Up", it might be better to put more video (less than 4 mins) to catch students' attention and improve their engagement.

Reviewed by Hyeon Joon Shin, Associate Professor, Anderson University on 3/27/20

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This textbook thoroughly and comprehensively covers all the macroeconomics topics at the “Principles” level that college economics professors are supposed to teach. This textbook has a couple of interesting features that make it differentiated from other similar textbooks that I have used. First, this text treats the topics in macroeconomic policy very importantly and focuses a lot on the policy implications of each topic. I really love this feature. I think that macroeconomics is, by nature, policy-oriented and was invented as an attempt to understand economic fluctuations and to find possible policy treatments for them. I hope that other macroeconomic textbooks would focus more on the policy perspective like this text. Second, this textbook assigns two chapters to explain and distinguish between the Keynesian perspective and the neoclassical perspective in a very balanced manner. I also love this feature. Unfortunately, however, this in-depth analysis of the two perspectives is more than enough for business students (not economics majors) to study. Third, this textbook contains substantial coverage on the international dimensions of economics, such as international trade, international finance, and globalization.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I find the contents of this textbook very accurate. In particular, this textbook pursues content accuracy in a way that unbiasedly shows various views on a controversial topic. For example, it has been very controversial which one between the Keynesian perspective and the neoclassical perspective better explains modern macroeconomic issues, and this textbook makes a quite smooth and unbiased transition from one to the other by mentioning the strength and weakness of each perspective. Also, this text, when it explains the concept of economic convergence, shows both the arguments for and against the existence of economic convergence. The unbiased and balanced feature is what I love the most about this textbook.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

All the contents and data in this textbook are very much up to date. This textbook has a lot of recent real-world examples. It also contains a lot of hyperlinks that directly connect the textbook and recent research findings. When it comes to longevity, the length of each chapter is moderately 30 pages long on average. But, as a whole, this text is too long to be covered for one semester. A typical college semester is usually defined as 15 weeks long, and this text has 21 chapters. This means that instructors have to hurry up to cover more than one chapter per week or inevitably cut off some supplementary parts of the contents.

Clarity rating: 4

The text nicely and clearly presents all the information. The authors offer the “Key Terms” section at the end of each chapter. This definitely helps students who take their first economics class better understand economic jargon. The textbook is interspersed with “Clear It Up,” “Link It Up,” “Work It Out,” and “Bring It Home” boxes. They are also great additions to improve the clarity and readability of the text. I think this test is targeted at students with a basic background in economics at the “Survey” level. It seems to be a little hard for beginners with no economics background to read.

Consistency rating: 5

I could not find any issues with consistency. The authors do not rush into things they want to teach but slowly build necessary terminologies first and then consistently use them to explain the things. The notations used are also consistent across the chapters and are the same as those used in other textbooks.

Modularity rating: 4

As mentioned in the “Relevance/Longevity” section, the text is too long to be covered for one semester because it consists of 21 chapters. I think that Instructors often need to cut some supplementary contents and consider an alternate sequence of the covered contents. Fortunately, the modularity of this textbook allows the instructors to smoothly exclude some supplementary chapters from their course curriculum and makes the content sequence flexible without any trouble even though all the chapters are not written completely independently.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 3

I have mixed feelings about the structure of this text. I really love the way that the authors placed the applications of the supply-demand model to labor markets and financial markets right after the introduction to the supply-demand model. This unique flow guarantees consistency and is really helpful for students to understand that the supply-demand model well explains the market mechanism and thus can be applied to any existing market. Nevertheless, this text’s organizational pattern leaves a little to be desired. First, the topics in economic fluctuations (the business cycle) are dispersed in many chapters. I think it would be better if the authors could assign a stand-alone chapter to those topics. Second, the chapter for international finance (Chapter 16) is separated from other international economics chapters. I think It might be better if the authors could get them all together.

Interface rating: 4

The interface of this text is quite good. It is fairly easy to access and navigate when students read it online. The line length for text on a webpage is ideal, which is making it as easy as possible for students to read online. Students can immediately have access to other related texts or external information by clinking on the hypertexts in the textbook. My only concern about the interface is poor graphical representation. A “Principles” level course heavily relies on the graphical representation of economic theories. As other reviewers mentioned, however, all the graphs are created mainly with a single color of pale blue, which looks dull and thus cannot catch the eyes of readers.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The text is well written grammatically. I found no grammatical errors in the text.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I feel that the authors try hard to explain each topic from different cultural perspectives. I found the text to be culturally unbiased and fair. I love the idea that the author assigns the whole chapter to introduce macroeconomic policy around the world (Chapter 19). In Chapter 19, for example, the authors introduce us to three foreign examples from South Africa, India, Spain when they discuss youth unemployment.

To summarize, this open and free textbook is very comparable to any other popular commercial textbooks and is far better than them in some aspects. I am very likely to adopt it and strongly recommend it to other instructors.

Reviewed by Peter Mikek, Associate Professor, Wabash College on 11/5/19

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The text covers all main macroeconomic topics and expands into introductory exposition of money and banking and international economics. Additionally, some applications to labor and finance are offered. Beyond the usual treatment of the principles textbooks, this text introduces the distinction between Keynesian and Neoclassical perspectives. All usual pedagogical tool, such as boxes for fostering critical thinking, links to numerous to "real world" illustrations (here through QR codes), key concepts, various questions to verify understanding at the end of the chapters, an index at the end of the book, are provided.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I find the book accurate and like ample examples for frequently abstract concepts. I noticed no errors and think that the book largely avoided substantial biases present in current policy making.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

While the text is very much up to date, examples in all macro books have to be updated periodically. Some, like those from the Great Depression, for example, can serve long run. However, there is nothing intrinsically wrong with this the need to provide new examples and would be very surprised if the teachers themselves could not supplement their textbooks with the relevant daily events associated with their classes. This may be a bit more difficult for chapters like Macroeconomic policy around the world. However, while super interesting, this comparison is not absolutely necessary for good grasp of the material. Additionally, I imagine that the authors will periodically update the necessary parts.

Clarity rating: 5

The text is clear both in their explicit spelling of learning objectives and in exposition of material in verbal and graphical form. The authors managed very well the trade-off between the field jargon and accessibility of the text.

Consistency rating: 4

I found no issues with consistency. Terminology is nicely slowly built and used throughout the text in a consistent manner. This is true also for standard notation for macro variables. The use of "boxes' with additional information and practice is appropriately scattered throughout the text. Additional element of formal consistency is the end of chapter material with summaries, questions, and problems.

Modularity rating: 3

While the book provides some room for modularity, I wish this was strengthened. There is a lot of material to cover in principles and I inevitably find myself in need to cut some parts of the material. It would be nice to wrap the international elements into its own module. Similarly, I would like to see the text devoted to finance and banking in a separate module that would allow for brief introduction for some classes and delving deeper into the material for others.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Material is extremely nicely organized within chapters. The text is interspersed with "Clear It Up," "Link It Up," "Work It Out," and "Bring it Home" boxes. they are great additions to the text providing practice, clarification, connections to examples from every day life, and solidifying the knowledge. The end of chapters offer the usual key terms, summary, and questions. Also, the whole book follows a very good organizational pattern that is usual in such books. After brief introduction of (absolutely basic) micro topics it follows with intro to macro variables, growth, business cycle and ends with policy and international. One of the strengths of the text are solutions for some problems at the end of the book.

Interface rating: 5

I am very impressed with the interface. It is very easy to navigate through the material. Besides the table of contents there is also a drop down menu to move between chapters. The graphs are clear and very well labelled. Numerical examples are frequently in the form of tables. Color pictures accompany text as illustrations. I find it very attractive.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

I find no problems withe the language and grammar.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

There is a broad cultural specter included in the book. This is particularly obvious in "international" chapter, such as in chapter 19: Macroeconomic Policy Around the World. Various races and lifestyles are adequately and respectfully included in the text. For example, the chapter on unemployment clearly indicates the racial gaps related to unemployment.

I like this book a lot and am very likely to adopt it next time I teach Principles of Macro.

Reviewed by Joseph Schoen, Instructor, MnSCU on 9/26/18

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The textbook covers the major content areas expected to be covered in a Principle of Macroeconomics course and more. The index and the glossary are satisfactory and are just as good as those found in other textbooks.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The book is as accurate and free of errors as any other textbook in this topic.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The textbook is up to date and does not seem to have any big longevity issues. Like most Macroeconomic texts, current statistics are referenced that will need to be updated regularly (unemployment numbers, historical inflation, etc.), but these updates should be accomplished with relative ease.

Clarity rating: 4

When thinking of other Macroeconomic textbooks I have used or look at, this one does not seem to be as accessible as others, but the difference is not substantial. Context is given to economic concepts discussed throughout the book, helping to motivate the topics.

Consistency rating: 5

A strong point of the textbook. The layout of the textbook is consistent in its chapter structures. Students will rather quickly know where to look in a chapter for additional resources (list of key terms, self check questions, etc.) and what to expect in these resources.

Modularity rating: 5

The textbook topics are divided up in an appropriate matter. It would be easy for an instructor to pick and choose the areas of the textbook that they would, or wouldn't, want to cover in their course.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

For the most part, the textbook has a logical presentation in terms of the order of the topics. There were a couple of situations that the ordering of the topics seemed off. It would have made more since to have covered Fiscal Policy at an earlier point in the textbook and to have moved the topic of exchange rates and international capital flows to later in the book by international trade. Luckily the textbook is divided in a way that makes it easy to jump to different chapters.

Interface rating: 3

The textbook is easy to navigate. The big issue I see with the textbook though is the quality of the graphs within it. Graphs are relied upon heavily at this level of Macroeconomics, yet the graphs in the textbook are rather dull in color and not vibrant. Bolder lines and increased color contrast in the graphs would greatly improve the textbook.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

Very few grammatical errors were found within the textbook.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The textbook was not found to be culturally insensitive or offensive.

Overall thorough textbook. The flow of the book might seem a little off in some instances, but overall the layout and material covered is appropriate for a Macroeconomics course. It would be nice to see more vibrant/professional looking graphs in the future.

Reviewed by Elizabeth Porter, Lecturer, UNC Asheville on 2/1/18

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The text covers as many (if not more) topics and concepts than the majority of principles texts currently available.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The text's content is both accurate and relevant.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The text uses practical examples of core concepts which are relevant, and not "hokey" or dated. Overall the examples used in the text should be relatable to a broad audience.

Clarity rating: 4

The text does a good job presenting clear and relevant explanations of core economic terms and concepts.

Consistency rating: 5

The text's chapters are well designed and balanced.

Modularity rating: 3

This is the one aspect of the text that I recommend adapting. Several of the chapters have more content than I would prefer to cover in one of two class sessions. Some chapters could be split into multiple modules, or divided into chapters with appendices.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Overall the text's organization and layout is on par with the majority of texts on the market, with a logical and practical framework.

Interface rating: 5

The text is extremely easy to access, both online and through download.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The text's mechanics (spelling, punctuation, and grammar) are absolutely up to industry standard.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

The text presents a variety of examples from different perspectives.

All in all, I am impressed with the quality of the text. The only difference I would like to see is more "bite sized" chapters, especially for use in principles courses where the majority of students are first-year students.

Reviewed by Shirin Sabetghadam, Professional Lecturer, The American University on 2/1/18

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The textbook is very comprehensive and covers most of the topics in an introductory macroeconomics courses. The index is attached to each chapter and the book is very well organized.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

I could not find any typo in the parts that I reviewed. It seems to be free of error.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The examples and data in the textbook are up to date and as time goes by, it is easy to up to date the data given in the textbook.

Clarity rating: 4

The text is clear and can be easily followed. However, there are some parts that can be a bit confusing for a reader. For example, in the part that authors try to explain “expansionary fiscal policy”, they also talk about “contractionary fiscal policy”; which is redundant from my perspective, while it has its own section.

Consistency rating: 5

In terms of terminology and notations the textbook is consistent.

Modularity rating: 5

The text is very well divisible into small sections. Each section starts with the overview of the section and has a learning goal. What I like about this book is that some sections have “link it up” part that can be linked to the video related to the topic covered in the section.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The textbook is organized in a good and logical fashion. Most of the topics covered in the text and their sequence is similar to the text that I am using for this course.

Interface rating: 4

Overall, the books interface is in a good condition. The only issue that I am concern about is the shape of graphs that could be more professional and bolder. They look a bit blurry.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

I have found few grammatical error while reading the text which is given the length of the textbook is acceptable. In general, the text is written very well.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

The authors tried to provide examples from all over the World. But most of the examples are addressed US economy.

Reviewed by Sarah Jenyk, Insructor, Youngstown State University on 4/11/17

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

The text is thorough and covers areas expected from a Principles of Macroeconomics textbook.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The content is free from errors or bias and presents the material in an accurate manner.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The book includes data and examples that are current and relevant.

Clarity rating: 2

Compared to other principles textbooks, this text is not as accessible to students. The text might be intimidating for a principles student in terms of its delivery of the content.

Consistency rating: 4

The chapters are presented in a consistent manner, with subsections and key terms at the end of each chapter.

Modularity rating: 4

The chapters contain several subsections and the material is divided among chapters in an appropriate manner.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 2

The organization and flow of the text, as presented, is unusual. Although economics is defined in Chapter 1, the term opportunity cost is not introduced until Chapter 2. Chapter 2 also contains budget constraints and marginal utility analysis, which is unusual for a macro book. Chapters 4 & 5 also seem out of place for a principles of macro text. Chapter 10 is titled "The International Trade and Capital Flows", and Chapter 20 is titled "International Trade" - there is some redundancy there. Chapters 10 and 16 seem out of place in their current position and would fit better in the section on international economics (Chapters 19-21).

Interface rating: 4

There are no interface issues that I experienced while reviewing the text.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The book is free from grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 3

The book meets a satisfactory level of cultural relevance.

Reviewed by Ling Shao, Lecturer, Miami University on 8/21/16

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

I find this book to be very thorough in the subject matter. Compared to a few textbooks that I am familiar with (e.g., the ones by Mankiw, by Krugman/Wells, and by Frank/Bernanke), it includes substantial coverage on international economics as well as all the basic macro components. I very much appreciate the fact that the book provides a nice global perspective. If there is one small section that could be added, I would consider an introduction to finance, given the increasing importance of the financial system in the macro economy.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

In a few chapters that I have read carefully from beginning to end, I find the contents to be largely accurate. I did discover a few typos here and there, especially with graphs. For instance, Figure 12.11 on page 310 one of the arrows is in the wrong direction. Figure 13.2 on page 318 does not really match up with the in-text description. On page 454 “...Recall from Unemployment...” should be replaced by “...Recall from Economic Growth...” instead. Given the amount of work and the number of authors involved in developing the book, it is understandable to have a few errors. I would like to remind any potential user of the textbook to watch out for possible typos.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

This book will be able to stay relevant for a while. Updating textbook examples and data is relatively easy given the wide availability of macro data.

Clarity rating: 4

I find that for the most part the book is written in a clear manner and uses some very interesting analogies and examples to aid in explanations. One thing I did notice in the few chapters that I have gone through thoroughly is that at times the text is presented in a colloquial way. It reminds you more of an instructor talking in class than reading a textbook. This book also introduces some pretty novel terminologies, such as Macroeconomic Externality, Keynes's Law, etc.

Consistency rating: 4

I don’t see any problems with the internal consistency of the book’s terminology and framework in a big-picture sense. A minor confusion arises when the opening chapter (Chapter 6) states three macroeconomic goals but in Chapter 11 you find that it mentions four goals. This should be readily fixed, though.

Modularity rating: 5

This book has done an excellent job breaking up a chapter into manageable sections. I especially like the way that learning objectives are clearly spelled out at the beginning of each section.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

I would say that organization of various macro topics in this textbook is very different from the textbooks that I am familiar with (e.g., the ones by Mankiw, by Krugman/Wells, and by Frank/Bernanke). If I were to switch to this textbook, I foresee that I need to spend some time getting used to the new structure. It is not really a matter of good or bad, but if you have a strong preference for routine, you may want to think about re-arranging some chapters.

Interface rating: 5

I find this book to be very easy to use with bookmarks and hyperlinks. It has exceeded my expectations about a free digital book in terms of its interface. I also like the feature of using QR codes for some real-world applications. It should be very appealing to students.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

Overall the book is very well-written. From those chapters that I have sampled, there are very few grammatical errors. There are no major mistakes to have an impact on reader comprehension.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I find the book to be culturally appropriate. It takes noticeable efforts to cover macroeconomic issues faced by developing as well as developed nations.