Cartoon Introduction to Economics, Volume I: Microeconomics

I am a fan of this format for helping people understand economic ideas, and I bought this book (and its successor on macroeconomics) to see how well they convey important or complex ideas. (Here's my review of their book on climate change.) My overall comment is that the authors (Bauman on text, Klein on illustrations) do a great job, which means that I will recommend this book to students who are (justifiably) turned off by over-formal mathematical explanations of economic ideas.The most important decision of the authors is their choice of which microeconomic topics to cover. They present the material in three parts, each with 5-6 chapters, i.e.,I. The optimizing individualIndividual v group outcomesDecision trees ("opportunity costs")TimeRiskFrom one to some (next part)II. Strategic interactionsCake cutting (equity or fairness)Pareto efficiencySimultaneous move games (prisoner's dilemma)AuctionsFrom some to many (next part)III. Market interactionsSupply and demandTaxesMargins (marginal thinking)ElasticityThe big picture (lots of exceptions to the ideas above)ConclusionMy only comments on the text are slightly nit-picky, but I think relevant:It's important to remember that individual "discount rates" are not the same as interest rates when it comes to making decisions about costs now for future benefits. Many students confuse the two, and this book does as well.Neanderthals are presented as rather dumb compared to homo sapiens when they were actually smarter as individuals. Homo Sapiens had the advantages of language and thus group cooperation, which is why we took over from neanderthals.Far more should have been said about various impediments to efficient markets, as most readers have experience with imperfect markets.The authors should have clarified that market economics provides limited insights that political economy can better explain, i.e., how communities can provide "goods," the source and need to regulate negative externalities, etc. (read more here).Bottom line: I give this book FIVE STARS for being entertaining at the same time as it makes it easier to understand important economic ideas.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Cartoon Introduction to Economics. The fundamental ideas in Microeconomics are presented in a clear and intelligent manner, with many humorous but thoughtful examples and analogies. The organization of the book is clean and logical, moving from the "optimizing individual" to "strategic interactions" of small groups to "market interactions" involving many people. A wide variety of topics are distilled down to their essence (decision trees, risk, pareto efficiency, auctions, trade, supply and demand, taxes, elasticity, etc.). Klein's whimsical and funny illustrations add a great deal to the text, and hold the reader's interest while at the same time helping to explain the various concepts and examples. This book is appropriate for many different ages and backgrounds, from high school or college students studying econ to the average adult seeking a little more knowledge and understanding of basic economic principles. I've read parts of it several times, and find that I get a deeper understanding of some of the more complicated and nuanced concepts the second time through. My one (minor) complaint is that this otherwise quick read bogs down a bit in some of the later chapters (e.g. margins and elasticity) with too much theory (and not enough jokes?). But this is a minor issue, and on the whole I enthusiastically recommend this book for both econ students and for people who just want to learn more about the topic (and have fun doing it).

This is a wonderful and humorous introduction to microeconomics! I bought the second volume ("macroeconomics") while waiting for a train in Frankfurt at the bookstore in that station (no idea, why they thought it a good idea to put copies of that book next to the cash register --- but that's how I found it!), read it in full riding a train to Berlin and chuckled all the way! I then decided to also get the first volume on microeconomics from Amazon, and it was just as terrific. It contains a surprising amount of valuable information, it is surprisingly complete and up-to-date, it is fun and fast to read (a few hours) and it is excellent value for the price. I love the little cartoons when they describe tongue-in-cheek, how many fundamental ideas in economics received a Nobel prize. It is well written, an enjoyable read, and should be required reading in schools, for journalists and politicians. It is an excellent quick-guide intro for anyone embarking on learning all the details in earnest, e.g. economics students or MBA students. I recommend it highly. Harald Uhlig, Dept. of Econ., Univ. of Chicago.

I would recommend this book to young readers interested in understanding the basic concepts in Economics.

lots of special names of economic concepts the reader is to accept pending future explaining.that is the worst way to learn / best way to kill interest.I wish to return this book, if possible

Dieser Cartoon beschreibt bildlich worum es in der Mikroökonomik geht. Die Begriffe werden in einen Kontext gebracht und man merkt gar nicht, dass man hier gerade etwas lernt. Ganz nebenbei lernt man auch die englischen Fachbegriffe, die für ein Wirtschaftsstudium unerlässlich sind, denn die Fachliteratur ist in englisch.

The content of the book itself looks great. It arrived in a ruined state and the situation so far has not been rectified. Very disappointing.

カートゥーンでありながら内容は濃くかつ英語で、楽しめました。