Wisdom in a set of blue boxes

Economics. Tenth edition

May 28, 2004

When I studied economics at A level back in the mid-1970s, Richard Lipsey's Positive Economics was the text I used, and excellent it was. Reading the tenth edition of its successor, I see that its good points have survived and that the book has also moved on a long way.

The text reflects the excellent economic insight of its authors - particularly apparent in the "blue boxes", where important topics such as the implications of electronic money and technological change on the economy are discussed in a no-nonsense and illuminating manner. It is up to date, covering, like Lipsey's original, the latest theory and policy issues.

The book is cosmopolitan and has no obvious geographic centre: its data are not specific to the UK. However, there is not enough on China and too much on Canada.

Another problem is the website accompanying the book, which is very basic.

For students, it provides a couple of short paragraphs and a few useful links to websites for each chapter. This is minimalist compared with its competitors. As a book-based text, Economics is extremely good. For students who like clicking on icons, it will feel a bit dated.

Huw Dixon is professor of economics, York University.

Economics. Tenth edition

Author - Richard Lipsey and Alec Chrystal
Publisher - Oxford University Press
Pages - 699
Price - £32.99
ISBN - 0 19 925784 1

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