This is one book which an engineer esp an environemtal engineer must have as it starts from basics and takes you to complex situations making them understandable.

the book was easy to understand and it had some great examples that made understanding the concepts of economics simple. He did a great job explaining all the concepts and i would recommend this book to all econ students

Parkin does a good job of introducing the elements, and is particularly helpful with the graphs. However, he labors, generally unnecessarily, concepts that are quite straightforward. He is not very good in the macroeconomic, especially fiscal and monetary, parts of the book. More applied examples would also have been helpful.

Parkin does a wonderful job of explaining the intricate concepts behind microeconomics and macroeconomics. The emphasis of this textbook is on understanding, and Parkin clearly makes an effort to elucidate every graph and concept presented. Although Parkin's text overlooks the mathematics of economics, it is superb for an introductory level Economics course.

Through close reading of this textbook, I was able to fully understand economic terms and the graphing of economic forces (supply/demand curves, GDP curves, aggregate supply/demand curves, etc.) Parkin's explanation of each graph facilitated a true understanding of economics.

With excellent, easy-to-understand writing and extensive use of graphs, Parkin's guide served as an Economics bible, and I did not need any supplementary reading for the course. Although a little confusing in certain areas such as growth theory, as a whole, Parkin's text is undoubtedly the only textbook you'll ever need.

Parkin's text is probably one of the best introductory textbooks for economics. The primary criticisms of Parkin's text seem to stem from its perspective on teaching economics. Parkin presents the full breadth of "high economics" - a means of analyzing and resolving problems of scarcity. Parkin stresses the underlying problems that the techniqiues of analysis are designed to address rather than merely reciting mathematical formulae that seem to exist in a vacuum.

Parkin's graphs and explanations are generally excellent and well worth reading.

To Parkin's credit, he clearly distinguishes between positive and normative conclusions of economics. Many introductory textbooks become dogmatic regarding the author's conclusions.

Some readers apparently do not like the additional information and text boxes that Parkin includes in this book. These criticisms appear to be misguided. One of this book's greatest strengths is that it is not afraid to admit that it is introductory. In many ways the best introductory texts are survey-type books that allow you to learn the language and primary concerns of that field of study. Further courses in price theory, public choice, welfare economics, antitrust, money & banking all rely on a strong conceptual understanding of basic economics. After reading Parkin the careful reader will be able to comprehend the primary considerations of economics and communicate with more advanced scholars in this field.

parkin's macro text, like his micro text, provides a rudimentary, yet comprehensive, survey of macro econ. it is good for students who have a slight grasp of economics and would like to know more about it. parkin does a good job of explaining and introducing the fundamental concepts. more advanced econ students or individuals with a base of economic knowledge, spend your time and money somewhere else

The Parkin book is dumb down but so much so that you dont understand Microeconomics the way you'll need to if you plan on taking advanced theory, money and banking, etc.

I prefer McConnell Brue who has been the staple and bible of Microeconomics for years!

Smart universities choose McConnell Brue and dumb ones like Micro econ at Rice seem to choose Parkin.

Parkin's text was designed for the beginning economics student. Those who state that the text is not rigorous enough should understand the text was not written for the advanced student. Those who complain that the text is replete with explanations of basic topics do not understand that beginning students need reaffirmation of presented concepts. Parkin's text strives to appeal to the broad base of students without the dilution that seems to occur when a text is written with "non-majors" in mind. I read several introductory texts before adopting the Parkin text for my advanced placement class. I chose the Parkin text because it provided the optimum mix of rigor and explanation, without sacrificing analysis (within a mathematical context) for a purely verbal approach.

I have used Parkin as an auxilliary source for my micro 102 classes for years. His examples are products that can be related to by 19-year-olds, AND he does not use wheat or other perfectly competitive products to exemplify a downward sloping demand curve! Many other do, which causes great confusion among the students. What is wrong with careful, thoughtful, comprehensive explanations of concepts that are difficult for first time micro students? He covers several complicated topics that are left out of the more highly rated texts by Mankiw and others. I am wondering if we are even rating the same book...I give it the maximum rating!

This book has been a struggle to understand since the beginning. The explainations and definitions are described as if the author doesn't want you to comprehend the full meaning of the concepts. The examples are also terrible, it's like he's not trying to help us. Compared to the N. Gregory Mankiw book, this textbook is a bore.