Is there a Micro & Macro Economics course for a full year?

[Savermom]

My son wants to do a full year of Economics, but does not want a video or online course. He prefers books. I can't seem to find a course that covers both indepth for a full credit, probably AP as well. Any doing this?

[Savermom]

No one? Well, which one should come first, micro or macro?

[Kakids]

No one? Well, which one should come first, micro or macro?

It honestly doesn't matter which one you do first. They do have some similarities, but don't really build off each other. Whichever one you do first, the next one you will already have the beginning basics of supply and demand.

 

I don't know anything about high school economics, but I have familiarity with college econ. In college a micro/macro sequence can be done in a year with one each semester. Again, it doesn't matter which one is taken first. That, in my experience, is personal preference.

[Janice H]

I like Gwartney and Stroup's series as seen here:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Economics-Private-Public-Choice-11th/dp/0324205643/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1343232310&sr=1-5&keywords=gwartney+stroup

 

You should be able to buy a used copy and study guides for a very reasonable price. Make sure the edition you get has both micro/macro or be aware that some of the books in the series with the same title are only micro or macro.

[Savermom]

Thank you! This looks like it will work.

[4wildberrys]

I like Gwartney and Stroup's series as seen here:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Economics-Private-Public-Choice-11th/dp/0324205643/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1343232310&sr=1-5&keywords=gwartney+stroup

 

You should be able to buy a used copy and study guides for a very reasonable price. Make sure the edition you get has both micro/macro or be aware that some of the books in the series with the same title are only micro or macro.

 

 

What's the viewpoint of the text? I did notice that Greenspan and Bernanke are considered 'Outstanding Economists' while perusing the table of contents at Amazon. :glare:

[Bootsie]

The Gwartney and Stroup text is a standard college level 2-semester course covering macro and micro. Bauml and Blinder also have a text. Mankiw is another choice that a lot of students like. All of these are going to be fairly similar in their presentation of material. There are others, but I can't think of them right off of the top of my head.

 

Whether to cover macro or micro first is an on-going debate among economics professors. I would suggest choosing a book and sticking with the order that is presented within that book.

 

I am an economics and finance professor. I have not taught the principles of economics course in a number of years, but if you have any quetions pm me.

[Janice H]

That's nice to hear Savermom; thank you for checking it out.

 

And 4wildberrys, I hope this delayed reply is still of use to you.

 

 

What's the viewpoint of the text? I did notice that Greenspan and Bernanke are considered 'Outstanding Economists' while perusing the table of contents at Amazon. :glare:

 

 

I did not have the more recent text with the two economists you mentioned, and I do not know what the authors said about them, especially in 2005 (pre-TARP, pre-quantitative easing, etc.) which is the copyright date of the edition that I linked to. IMO, sometimes a good theorist could recommend bad policy.

 

Perhaps you will take comfort in Walter Williams's list. I rechecked Walter Williams's website and see that he still had the 1992 Gwartney and Stroup book (the microeconomics edition) on his recommended readings list. (It's possible he has not looked at newer editions.) Dr. Williams also recommends another G & S 2010 book, but it's a different book. See here http://econfaculty.gmu.edu/wew/readings.html

 

Also on Amazon, you will see the Gwartney and Stroup textbook criticized by some for its free market viewpoint. (But many still admit it's well written.)

 

From an older WTM board post I wrote this:

 

It's the philosophical underpinnings and policy applications where the heated arguments arise.

 

Here is a 12 page .pdf written for laypeople.

http://econfaculty.gmu.edu/wew/misc/...TheCitizen.pdf

 

Here is a relevant quote from the .pdf (I bolded the last line):

 

"Normative questions deal with what is better or worse. No theory can answer normative questions. Try asking a physics teacher which is the better or worse state: a solid, gas, liquid or plasma state. He'll probably look at you as if you're crazy. On the other hand, if you ask your physics teacher which is the cheapest state for pounding a nail into a board, he'd probably answer that the solid state is. It's the same with economic theory, as opposed to economists. That is, if you asked most economists which method of conflict resolution produces the greater overall wealth, they'd probably answer that the market mechanism does.

 

The bottom line is that economic theory is "objective" or non-normative and doesn't make value judgments. Economic policy questions are normative or "subjective" and do make value judgments --questions such as: Should we fight unemployment or inflation, should we spend more money on education, and should the capital gains tax be 15 percent or 20 percent? It's in the area of value judgments where there's so much disagreement among economists."