This is a warning for students - the paperback and hardcover books are different in this instance - the paperback does not have all the chapters that the hardcover edition has. So if you need the 9th edition in hardcover, do not buy the paperback!

The basic problem with this economics textbook is that Mankiw is unable or unwilling to present an analytic,technically sound exposition ,at the Principles level, of the fundamental theoretical difference separating Keynesian and Neoclassical(Classical)economists in 1936 or today.These differences appear in the paradox of thrift.I have already covered this in my review of Samuelson's classic 1948 first edition.Basically ,neoclassicals argue that the economy is naturally selfadjusting under conditions of resource scarcity.Assuming two types of goods and industries,consumption and investment,any type of private sector miscalculation and/or forecast error of the composition of the product mix that businessmen sell is self correcting by means of inventory adjustment.Too many consumption goods and too few investment goods will lead to an inventory adjustment via the Invisible Hand that results in less consumption goods and more investment goods.There is an inverse relationship between the two sectors of the economy.Unfortunately,such an inverse relationship only obtains if the economy is operating on the boundaries of both the static and dynamic production possibilities frontier(ppf) curves.This requires that business forecasts of their capital stock(factories,plants and equipment)are always correct.In general,the private sector is operating in the interior of both ppf's due to the problem of insufficient investment in infrastructure because the capital stock can't be adjusted in the face of constant innovation,advance,and technological change.The physical capital stock is cast in concrete;it is irreversible,irrevocable and industry specific.This explains why investment is unstable,volatile and unpredictable over time while consumption is stable,predictable and nonvolatile.There is no tradeoff between the two kinds of very different goods.It is interesting that the "real options" theory of Dixit and Pindcyk has come to many of the same conclusions without citing either Samuelson or Keynes.However, there is a solution.Increased public sector investment in needed infrastructure will,through the multiplier process,generate additional income and sales that will create positive expectations of future expected profits for the private sector.This will lead the economy back towards the boundary of both ppf's where the neoclassical marginalist calculus of rational utility and profit maximizers would again become operational.This is the message of both Paul Samuelson and John Maynard Keynes.Mankiw never presents this position in a coherent fashion anywhere in his textbook.The result is that users of Mankiw's book have no idea of what set off the Keynesian Revolution and why macroeconomics is splintered.

Don't buy this book if you do not have to for a class. I did. As with most textbooks, it is a ripoff. Mankiw got a 1.4 million - MILLION - dollar advance for it. Who do you think pays that.
What kinds of things does this text teach? Well, it contends that unemployment insurance and labor unions cause unemployment, because people do not want to look for work when they can fall back on the governmnet. This is the biggest load of hooey in the world. I guess when you are a rich, tenured professor it is quaint to see those people lining up who just lost their jobs because business major read your book. And minimum wage? Kills off jobs.
Mr Makniw is now the chairman of the presidents council of economic advisors. What a job he has done. Worst jobs record since Hoover. Of course, if the capitalists honchos had their way, everyone else would be working for $2.75 an hour.
Read this book, but go to the grocery store first. On top of the $100-plus you pay for this book, punk down 75 cents for a box of salt. You're gonna need every grain.

This is a very readable textbook for undergraduates or interested generalists who want to develop a basic understanding of economics. Dr. Mankiw focuses on developing intuitions and habits of thought rather than teaching mathematical techniques. He does this by using ten basic principles that he lays out in the introduction. Throughout the book, whenever one of the ten principles is discussed he uses a special symbol in the margin to draw attention to that discussion.

The book's thirty-six chapters are divided into thirteen parts. The first two parts introduce the ten principles and the basic ideas of supply, demand, and markets. Parts 4-7 discuss topics in microeconomics including the areas of current research. Parts 8-13 discuss topics in macroeconomics and conclude with five debates over macroeconomic policy.

Since this is a general textbook the author really does not come down hard in one school of economic thought or another. Conservatives, like me, might find him a bit more accommodating of the role of government in society. However, he is far from being a Keynesian or a New Keynesian. In fact, his discussion of the Phillips Curve has brought him under attack in some circles. I feel that his trying to develop an intuition of the tradeoff economies face when trying to pursue employment and price stability is understandable and, on balance, helpful to young students and generalists. Let them wrestle with the more advanced arguments after they develop their facility with the tools of economics.

The book does have a glossary, an index, and inside the back covers there is a list of a couple dozen books for summer reading.

This is not a one-volume compendium of economic thought for your bookshelf. It is a textbook for those who wish to develop a basic understanding of economics through general principles. If you are looking for a beginning text in econometrics, this is not the one for you.

The student workbook that you can buy to supplement this text is quite good and I recommend it as well. ISBN 0-324-28859-X

For 10 years, I have taught intro-level economics courses at a university. I have used a variety of books, and read many others (to steal their best ideas and examples for my teaching!). Mankiw is the one I like best.

More importantly, Mankiw is the one my students consistently like best. I often survey students near the end of the semester about their satisfaction with different aspects of the textbook, including: clarity, brevity, real-world relevance, effective layout & use of color, quality of the diagrams, and so forth. I tell my students not to sign their survey - I want their responses to be anonymous and completely candid. I tell students "If this book doesn't work for you, PLEASE tell me so that I can use a better one for my next batch of students."

More than any other textbook I've used, Mankiw's Economics textbook gets the highest student ratings in every category.

It might also be helpful for you to know about the difficulty level of Mankiw. I would describe it as average. For comparison, I would describe the following as above average difficulty level: Stockman, Stiglitz, Baumol/Blinder, Case/Fair, and Parkin. I would describe these books as below average difficulty level: Tucker, Miller, Bade/Parkin, Boyes/Melvin, and O'Sullivan/Sheffrin. I think the difficulty level of Mankiw is roughly comparable to that of Schiller, Colander, McConnell/Brue, and McEachern.

Despite that Mankiw is merely "average" difficulty level, it maintains a fairly good degree of analytical rigor.

Also, the writing style is student-friendly (but definitely not too informal), and, unlike other textbooks, Mankiw avoids introducing a lot of terms that won't be important for anything later in the book. The layout is attractive, yet clean and uncluttered, with lots of space in the margins for students to jot notes if they wish. Students find the end-of-chapter exercises very helpful.

The most distinguishing characteristic of the macroeconomics chapters is Mankiw's innovative approach. He first covers long-run topics: What determines a country's standard of living in the long run? What is the cause of the long-run upward trend in the cost of living? Why is there unemployment when things are "normal" (i.e. not a recession)? And many others (including saving, investment, the government budget deficit, the trade balance - all things you hear about on the evening news every day).

Then, he turns to short-run issues, such as recessions and booms.

Why treat the long run first? Because it's easier to learn the short-run analysis after students have learned the long-run equilibrium around which the economy fluctuates. (Also, there is much more agreement in the profession about the long-run analysis, whereas there's a fair amount of controversy over some of the details of the short-run analysis.)

How is this approach received? Very well, as evidenced by the fact that many other textbooks have copied it AFTER Mankiw first popularized it with the first edition of his Principles book, and before that, the first edition of his excellent intermediate macroeconomics textbook.

Mankiw is a superstar in the profession - and outside of it, as well. President Bush tapped him to be the Chairperson of the President's Council of Economic Advisors, and Mankiw briefs the President once or twice every week (in addition to many other important responsibilities.)

Despite working for a Republican Administration, Mankiw presents a very balanced treatment of economics in his textbooks (and I am telling you this as a Democrat). In fact, Mankiw prefers GOOD ideas, whether Republican or Democrat. For example, he recently argued for a gas tax increase to encourage conservation, and suggested the revenue be given back to consumers in the form of an income tax cut. Mankiw clearly does not just "push the Party line." This is integrity.

The company that publishes Mankiw's Principles of Economics textbooks, Thomson/South-Western, invests a lot of resources into continually improving this book. Compared to any other textbook publisher I know, they hire more student and teacher reviewers and devote more time and effort and money into obtaining, processing, and incorporating critical user feedback so that each edition, and accompanying supplements, are the very best they can be.

All in all, I readily recommend Mankiw's Principles of Economics textbook.