Manufacturer: W. W. Norton Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours List Price:$135.00 Our Price:$135.00 Authors: Hal R. Varian Description:

The text is quite verbose, and it really requires reading twice in some parts to pick out what you really need! I suggest having some mathematic text books with lots of economic examples, as a back-up ... this is because I feel the examples in the book are hard to use, in the sense that you are learning something new and the examples are not straight-forward, so make the concepts hard to pick up in some parts of the book.

However, microeconomics is a huge subject and I wouldn't expect any one book to cover everything .... so expect to do some further reading to "catch" all concepts and get a good understanding of all the topics.

Overall, the book covers what you need to know ...


Only for basic economics
Is this book what I call "literary economic sciences"; there is the mathematical explination very small, which is good for students in the usual courses of level of 100/200 economic science, but of the completely useless afterwords. I was affected to read this in my year junior, and after the first ten chapters, turned over to another book, called ' MicrcoEconomics with calculations. I do not believe only the professors who recommend this book for the juniors (or prohibited God, seniors) really looked at in him, because the evidence of maths is little and far enters, and rather simple. However, for Freshman/Sophomores, I recommend it; it is a good base of which of theory, you can (if you wish) continue later of the maths waterproofs, which are essential for economic sciences of higher level. If you are in an advanced course and need the assistance with maths, I cannot recommend the fundamental methods of Chiang of alpha ' of mathematical Eocnomics rather high. This book was an aubaine with a student of economic sciences who had to evoke his arrangement quickly. Thank you, alpha - studying in Scotland


it is for undergraduates
Of course this textbook is not without it's flaws, maybe the major one is it's wordiness and lack of rigor. But if you could stick through it and read most of it then perhaps you could get something out of it. It is quite unfair to say that this book is one of the "worst," "a pain to read," or "dull" It is probably a standard textbook used in most universities at the undergraduate level. The fact that it is widely-used and is on it's sixth edition means that most undergraduate students are comfortable with Varian's approach. I'm in graduate school already but I still refer to it once in a while whenever I forget some concepts. It is aimed at sophomore/junior students who may not have been exposed to multivariable calculus and optimization yet; or who may still have a weak foundation in the mathematical tools required, so maybe that is the reason the author has placed the more rigorous (calculus) treatment in the appendices, as further reading material for students who want to know more. Serious students of economics who would like to pursue postgraduate degrees should realize that there are lots of other reference books out there to satisfy their curiosity and their need for more mathematical rigor. Finally, I would like to say that although the study of economics could have a tendency to be pedantic or just an exercise in mental gymnastics, understanding and applying concepts in neo-classical economics may somehow help us understand how (and why) the world works.


The best text available for intermediate micro!
The approach of Hal Varian to economic sciences is frank, but is written in an unequalled conversational tonality by the majority of the technical handbooks. Gracious. My professor had the practice the book very mathematically to supplement a rigorous course by using multivariable calculation. I did not like the fact that Varian did not employ calculation in the principal body of the text, instead of that moving it with the appendix. The frank model of Varian made him a very pleasant experiment of reading and a captivating introduction very to the discipline of micro-economics.


Missing Fundamental Explanations
I finish my final six-month period in the department of economic sciences at the university of Rochester. Looking back above all the books which I read as a student of student preparing a licence, ranks of this book among the worst three (books including other disciplines). Come from a student who will receive a diploma among the top in his class and will continue above to continue PhD in economic sciences, ox the open space of any section of micro-economics requiring this handbook, unless you have an excellent professor, that you know, will supplement the gaps.


weak
lowered my utility and it is a pain to read the hope of I which next the ED is better


dull
it is one of the books more the chechmates which I read the concepts am complicated and the book of work is full with the strange and awkward examples. This author misses imagination.


Clearly written intro to neo-classical economic belief
A very well-written introduction to the theory of neo-classical economic belief. States the (nonempirical) postulates explicitly (excepting the postulate of stability), illustrates how this leads to the prediction that regulations reduce efficiency, discusses game theory, law and econ, IT, and assymetric information. See my review of Microeconomics by the same author. Note also that, as in Microeconomics, there is no discussion of real empirical data. With only three exceptions there are no graphs obtained from real market data in Intermediate Microeconomics. Also, no mention of Radner's proof that equilibria make demands of information acquisition and processing on agents that cannot be met even by a Turing machine. Also, no discussion of the fact that (a) financial market data indicate stochastic dynamic models that have no equilibria either dynamically or statistically, and (b) when equilibria do occur in stochastic models of financial markets, then they are unstable (financial markets are not discussed in the text aside from the CAPM: there is no demand for liquidity in neo-classical economic theory, money is unnecessary, as is the Fed). The student should keep in mind that this is an already-falsified theory (a belief system) that does not describe how any market works in reality. In order to understand where and why this text goes wrong, read mirowski's Machine Dreams'.


a great introduction into microeconomics
Varian has done a great job. He got the balance between the math necessary for serious microeconomics, and the examples and jokes necessary to keep the students reading. Using the dual approach (household and producer behaviour), he introduces the reader into microeconomics at a level which makes it possible to move on to more esoteric books like his own 'Microeconomic Analysis', or 'Microeconomic Theory' by Mas-Colell, Whinston, Green. He manages to cover much more than Mankiw can, which is good and necessary to build a solid basis. Yet the book is accessible to anyone familiar with high school math (differentiation and optimization), and requires no economic prerequisites. He also covers several more advanced topics on a stand-alone basis (like economics of information, or game theory) which on the one hand is very useful, as it gives the reader an idea as to where one can head to, but on the other hand is not satisfying as these chapters are necessarily rather superficial. Apart from that, the book is great to built a rigorous basis for household and producer behaviour, and makes it rather easy to go on to much more advanced literature. The math is hidden in the appendices, so it is necessary for a serious understanding to cover these as well, but I don't see any problem with that. This book is as excellent as an introductory micro book can ever be.


could be better
This book is used everywhere by everybody. It is the most popular undergraduate text on the continent. I, however, was disappointed when I first looked into it. I found the book to be very sketchy. The way I see it, Varian had some lecture notes that he thought he would slap together and make a textbook out of. He doesn't appear to have put much more work into it than that. What is the purpose of those pathetic chapter summaries and the end of chapter questions, and, last but not least, the deplorable mathematical appendices? I also found Varian's occasional attempts at humor to be misplaced.

Varian's text is good for some things (no textbook is ALL bad). Chapter 10 on intertemporal choice, for instance, or chapter 12 on uncertainty are both covered with clarity. <


Good in Theory
I employed this book for the intermediate course of economic sciences to UT Austin. I found it a large supplement to classify conferences, etc... Although it misses examples of maths, there is a guide associated with study for this book. For all the applicants of maths, I suggest that they buy the edition of book stitched of the studyguide for this book.


More math please!
This really is an excellent introduction to microeconomics, but its weakness is that it tries to be all things to all people. The author appears to be trying very hard not to scare away potential readers who might be intimidated by calculus. This is a shame, since the level required is not very difficult. All that is really needed is a quick review of the derivitative, and the chain rule in particular. Calculus is essential for any further study of economics, so relegating it to the back of chapters does not do students any service. Having said all that, the concepts are very clearly and thoroughly expained. I just wish the math were more 'up front.'


Nice book with little math.
It is a good introductory book. I major in Electrical engineering and can read this book without big trouble. However, I hope this book can give more analysis in math.


Very Good Text Book - Don't Miss on It
The presentation of the theory is superb - frank simple English and at the point, and occassionally laced with mood! !. Many much examples to articulate concepts. The depth of the insurance for an intermediate course is clearly sufficient. The book makes the very interesting reading. My suggestion with the students: read the book with Juste of the basic knowledge of calculation, and a little scalar algebra, you will agree entirely with the whole that I said in top.


Excellent book to learn microeconomics from.
I wanted to learn a certain micro-economics, and passed by the library of university, examining their racks of the books on the matter. The book of Varian was best them (note: I read the third edition). It explained the concepts clearly, and was much more readable than all the others. Arrangements of organization and chapter were such as the material was broken in the nice-classified pieces. I strongly recommend this book.


Good, but not excellent
This covers most aspects of microeconomics, but with a drawback of lacking details. I think the use of calculus should be incorporated in the main text, not just at the back of the chapters, and i need to refer to his graduate text Microeconomics Analysis for advanced topics. The writer has done an excellent job in explaining economic concepts. Clear, simple. Another good microeconomics text may be price theory and application by Hirshleifer. Also a very good book, but different focus.


The best intermediate micro textbook
The intermediate micro book of Varian is the best. It obtains directly at the point. It does not go to far on muddling tangents. Moreover, this book does not have the additional not very annoying in the margins which the majority of the handbooks have. I feel sorry for the undergrads whose courses do not employ this book. It is in value the high price.


Makes easy the understanding of hard microeconomics concepts
Easy to read and to understand, this book allows the student in microeconomics learn some complex tricks of economic theory in an easy way. This is the reason why it is adopted in the top 5 brazilian universities as the student's main book on the subject.



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