| Newsletter | | Be notified of the latest releases.
We won't spam, share or barter your email address. |
|
|
My Feed Page
Wedding bells ring for wounded heroDaily News Transcript, MA - 2 hours ago
By Alice C. Elwell/Gatehouse News Service A wedding is supposed to be a moment of joy and hope filled with laughter and dreams. ... |
2 Dec 2008
2 Dec 2008
2 Dec 2008
1 Dec 2008
1 Dec 2008
1 Dec 2008
|
|
|
| Information | | [none entered] |
|
|
|
| Concise Guide to Macroeconomics: What Managers, Executives, and Students Need to Know | 
 enlarge | Author: David A. Moss
Publisher: Harvard Business School Press
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $16.38
You Save: $8.57 (34%)
New (37) Used (9) from $16.38
Avg. Customer Rating:  4 reviews
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 189
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6 x 1
ISBN: 1422101797
Dewey Decimal Number: 339
EAN: 9781422101797
Publication Date: July 5, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand New, Perfect Condition, Please allow 4-14 business days for delivery. 100% Money Back Guarantee, Over 1,000,000 customers served.
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Now more than ever before, executives and managers need to understand their larger economic context. In A Concise Guide to Macroeconomics, David Moss leverages his many years of teaching experience at Harvard Business School to lay out important macroeconomic concepts in engaging, clear, and concise terms. In a simple and intuitive way, he breaks down the ideas into output, money, and expectations. In addition, Moss introduces powerful tools for interpreting the big-picture economic developments that shape events in the contemporary business arena. Detailed examples are also drawn from history to illuminate important concepts.
This book is destined to become a staple in MBA courses as well as the go-to resource for executives and managers at all levels seeking to brush up on their knowledge of macroeconomic dynamics.
|
| Customer Reviews:
 Quick reding, just the information you need. November 24, 2008
Unlike most academic books, this one gives just the neccesary information, leaving you with the perfect insights. Lacks the depth of more explanation of some macro theory, but that's not the purpose of the book.
 A little *too* concise (3.5 stars) November 22, 2008
This book does introduce some basic macro concepts concisely, and in clear prose. Most of the main points are nicely summarized in simple graphics showing you how one thing (GDP, inflation, whatever) goes up as something else goes down, etc. And the author (DM) does remind you several times, in a general way, that the real world often behaves differently from macroeconomic theory.
That said, it's often hard to distinguish whether DM is talking about real effects or hypothetical ones. For example, DM mentions a couple of arguments aginst the Keynesian idea of stimulating the economy by means of deficit spending (an idea that was big in the 1930s-1970s, and that might make a comeback under the Obama Administration). The "rational expectations" argument says that consumers might rationally expect taxes to be higher in the future, to pay back for the deficit spending; and therefore they might increase their savings (in preparation for paying those taxes) instead of spending on goods or services. To the extent they save, that would neutralize the intended stimulus effect. The "crowding out" argument says that if the government tries to raise money by selling bonds, it will be competing with private borrowers for funds; the resulting increased demand for money could raise interest rates; and the higher rates, in turn, could discourage entrepreneurs and other private borrowers from borrowing; with the result that potentially useful projects would go unfunded and be scuttled. Has either of these effects ever been observed, and if so, to what extent? Or are they just arguments by supply-side economists, Reagan Republicans and other anti-Keynesian partisans? We are never told.
The book may also disappoint you if you're looking for insights into the current world situation. For example, in the chapter describing economic output (i.e., goods and services, usually measured by GDP), DM notes "At root, most financial assets represent claims on real productive assets (such as plants and equipment), which in turn are expected to generate output in the future. But of course, all of these productive assets were once output themselves" (@27; emphasis in the original). Maybe this statement is true, in a textbook theoretical way, about shares of stock in corporations: profs teach that a share of stock represents a claim to a piece of the company's assets. But this statement doesn't help you understand how the value of outstanding credit default swaps and other financial derivatives based on US home mortgages can be $33-$47 trillion, while the value of the mortgages themselves is only $10-$11 trillion, and the value of the homes (real assets, and BTW not "productive" ones) subject to the mortgages is in many cases less than the mortgages themselves. How do those financial assets in excess of 1x the mortgage values represent claims on real anything? DM's book doesn't clarify the mystery of derivatives -- or even mention it. Unfortunate, since the estimated value of all outstanding financial derivatives of all types is around $60T, roughly 3x-4x global GDP.
Another striking comment comes from a discussion of monetary policy: "A lower rate of interest may encourage consumption by making saving appear less attractive (since it now pays less) and -- what is essentially the same thing -- by reducing the cost of consumer borrowing" (@73). Sure, a lower interest rate could reduce the cost of consumer borrowing; the problem with DM's remark is between the dashes. If you don't save, couldn't that simply mean you're spending the money you earn, rather than borrowing? To call borrowing "essentially the same thing" as not saving seems an illustration of the messed-up thinking that got us into the current crisis, rather than something that will help you think your way out of that crisis.
If DM had allowed himself even 10 additional pages or so for thoughtful analysis and more specific examples of how well the theory relates to the real world, the book might have been more balanced. Instead, while its generally clear writing style is admirable, the book is a bit too short on substance.
Exactly what the title promises January 1, 2008
20 out of 21 found this review helpful
It is rare to find a book so aptly described by its title as "A Concise Guide to Macroeconomics." The book really is concise; the text is only 141 pages long, and even that number might give an exaggerated impression because there are fairly wide margins and two blank pages between each chapter, as well as numerous graphs and tables. Yet in those 141 pages, this guidebook covers the essentials of output and GDP accounting, the role of money, interest and expectations in monetary policy and business cycles, a brief monetary history of the United States, as well as the basics of international economics: why countries trade, how to read a balance of payments statement, and what sorts of forces move exchange rates.
The tables and charts scattered throughout the book provide excellent intuition for understanding international comparisons of GDP, the history of business cycles, or whatever topic is presently at hand. All of these media are well referenced in the text, clearly explained, and contain up-to-date information. Moss also illustrates some concepts, such as the Ricardian theory of comparative advantage, with examples of his own; these too are excellent.
What impresses me most about the book is that Moss seems to have gotten the technical level just right: this book has none of the anecdote-ridden flakiness so common to journalistic writing about economics, nor is it ponderous or over-burdened with theory. This guide will aptly explain the essentials of the field to those who are curious; I know of no other book like it, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. If you have any lingering doubts (you shouldn't) just click on the "Search Inside" icon at the top of the page, and click "Surprise Me" to get a random sample of Moss's writing.
Good short explanation of macroeconomics December 3, 2007
6 out of 10 found this review helpful
This book explain macroeconomics in a very good short way, like the tittle says, what a manager, executives, and students need to know, but not for a student that is getting an Economics degree. It shows problems that some countries had without knowing about, and prevent investors how to spot em before loosing they shirts like what happen in mexico in 1994.
I think is a good book for Investors or whomever is running a company.
BTW, if someone that goes or went to Harverd Business School and that it's getting or got an Economics degree, (BA, Ph.D., etc.), can you please let me know what Books are being used from the start until the end. Since i can't go to Harvard at least i will like to get the books to study on my own. Thank you.
|
|
|
. | |
