Principles of Political Economy - Third Edition

Reviewed by Boris Barkanov, Teaching Associate Professor, West Virginia University on 5/2/22

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

The text does not cover behavioral, institutional, sociological, or all critical approaches, nor does it really explore international political economy (e.g. IR realism) very much.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I found it accurate. I am a comparative and international relations political scientist with a BA in economics.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Very relevant and likely to remain so.

Clarity rating: 4

Accessible text book discussion, but would need to be supplemented with lecture for introductory undergrads.

Consistency rating: 5

"Neo-classical economics vs alternatives" is a good organizing structure that is consistently applied.

Modularity rating: 5

Individual chapters/sections can be assigned as supplements in CPE and IPE classes

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Good.

Interface rating: 5

Good because it is very simple. Additional links to sub-chapters (in detailed TOC) would be helpful.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I only saw one typo (in chapter 16): Bookings should be Brookings ?

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

A majority of the examples concern English speaking countries. But this is balanced by some discussion of other states/regions and attention to poor states/LDCs.

Comments

The third edition of Daniel E. Saros’ Principles of Political Economy: A Pluralistic Approach to Economic Theory is a useful text that presents a comprehensive introductory discussion of neo-classical economics, which it puts in dialogue with Keynesian, post-Keynesian, and some critical alternatives. The opening section explores the discourse, ethics, and supply/demand theory of neo-classical economics, followed by a Marxist analysis of class exploitation. Parts three, four, and five focus on micro-, macro-, and international economic theory. Each chapter starts with learning goals/objectives, includes brief analyses of contemporary political economic issues that demonstrate applications of preceding theoretical propositions, and concludes with a summary of key points, list of key terms, and problems for review that could be used in class and/or as homework. The chapters are fairly rich, well-organized, effective in introducing difficult concepts, and have the right amount of figures/tables. The text does not cover behavioral, institutional, sociological or all critical approaches, nor does it explore international political economy (e.g. IR realism) very much. With this in mind, it can be used as the primary text in a heterodox economics course. Alternatively, individual chapters/sections can be assigned as readings in CPE, IPE, and IR classes.

Reviewed by Mark Friedman, adjunct, Middlesex Community College on 5/29/20

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The book is comprehensive covering in depth economic theory, microeconomics, macroeconomics and international economics. There is an index, glossary and more such as a list of figures and tables.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The book fairly presents contending economic theories including economic history. The book is a welcome addition to the repository of economics texts in that students may profit from learning there are other ways to approach economics than the neoclassical approach.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The examples and cases are relevant and more or less enduring such that the text will not have to be swapped out within a short period of time. In any event, the author has been quite diligent with developing new editions and the current edition is the third edition published 5/2020.

Clarity rating: 5

The writing is clear and each chapter has goals and objectives, summary of key points, key terms and problems for review. The chapters are not overly long and the font size is easy on the eyes.

Consistency rating: 5

The text is one solid piece of consistent and clear scholarship and does not deviate chapter to chapter.

Modularity rating: 5

There are subheadings, ample and clearly explained graphs and formulas and the writing flows easily.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The order of topics makes sense both from the larger Theory to Micro to Macro to International Economics as well as the organization within each section. To present ALL topics in typical neoclassical economics texts AND alternative schools would be mean a text at least twice as long (maybe longer) and this is obviously not very practical. Sensibly the author has selected those major topics.

Interface rating: 5

A minor point but the online version might use a link at the bottom to take the reader back to Contents.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No grammatical or otherwise writing errors are detected.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The book is quite well-balanced and leans more toward theory and theorists and explanations of the theory with less focus on connecting theory to real-world examples. The section Following the Economic News connects theory to the real-world.

Comments

A very interesting book which I recommend highly. It's very impressive how the book is available in multiple formats such as epub, pdf, kindle, mobi. Some teachers and students might want answers to the Problems for Review but perhaps working them out is a true exercise in learning!