Microeconomic Theory: Amazon.ca: Michael D. Whinston, Jerry R. Green Andreu Mas-Colell: Books

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60 Reviews

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3.7 out of 5 stars (60 customer reviews)

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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Ask yourself one question, Jun 16 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Microeconomic Theory (Hardcover)

There appears to be a significant difference in opinions regarding the approach used by MWG. I believe that at the end of the day one has no choice but to conclude that the mathematical dependence by MWG is not conducive to critical thinking. Such a conclusion reveals the tragedy of modern day economics: mathematical elegance is preferred to practicality and intuition.

The main question that a reader of this book should ask is: Does MWG present a framework of analysis that enhances an individual's ability to develop economic policy that can effectively address the economic problems we face in the real world?

I believe that the answer is unambiguously NO. Instead, this book represents all that is wrong with modern day economics. That is to say that the real world plays a minimal role in MWG. In fact, most economists seem increasingly less and less concerned with solving real world problems. A look through most mainstream journals reveal that many economists enjoy inventing mathematical problems and presenting a clever mathematical solution to them. Whether what they have produced contributes to our knowledge about how the world works is rarely, if ever, a consideration.

Economists need to decide whether they want to be theorists or contribute to policy. These two roles require significantly different skill sets. Unfortunately, to pursue graduate studies in economics, students are required only to learn the mathematical tools for theory; there is no requirement or real inclination in graduate schools to instill students with a firm understanding of the political economy that goes on in policy work. This explains why macroeconomics and econometrics has proved to be increasingly unhelpful, and many cases causes damage, when used in practice.

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent treatment in theoretical microeconomics, Mar 16 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Microeconomic Theory (Hardcover)

The book presents a very complete treatment in theoretical microeconomics. It is rigorous but plenty of explanations and examples.

Some readers complain about the lack of real world examples and the math level. Well, the book is intended for graduate students in economics and requires full command of calculus in several variables, nonlinear optimisation (Kuhn-Tucker), and some concepts in real analysis. Without, this background I understand it may be painful to read it. One advice is reviewing the mathematical appendix and using a complementary text like Simon&Blume. Once you get used to this the story changes a lot (own experience).

It is true that you don't find here many real world examples, but simply the book is not intended for this purpose. If you want this try another one.

In sum, if you want a good background in theory this is the benchmark (I've read Varian also and some parts of Kreps).

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a comment on the level of maths, Nov 4 2003

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"mahatta" (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Microeconomic Theory (Hardcover)

Most people complaining about the level of math do apparantly not realize that the mathematics used in graduate textbooks on economics is quite elementary. This means, if you don't know the tools needed to understand MWG, read an optimization text like sundaram and you will be ready. No prerequisites for that. it is funny to read all the reviews complaining about the lack of intuition. You guys do not have any idea of what science is about.

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Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Big book, but much bigger in its contents
In its coverage and depth, this book needs help from only several other books such as Fudenberg and Tirole's(Game), Freixas and Rochet's(Banking), Tirole's(IO) and... Read more

Published on July 13 2004 by isixteen

5.0 out of 5 stars Complete, well explained and concise
This is a really good book for those who are taking graduate courses or comprehensive exams in Microeconomics. Read more

Published on Dec 29 2003 by SamBK