Macroeconomics

"Greg Mankiw is very good for entry-level type textbooks, whether they’re called ‘introduction’ to macroeconomics or ‘intermediate’ macroeconomics. They all suit, more or less, an entry-level knowledge of economics. Some have more, some have less analytical detail. This one is probably the most general in terms of its title, it’s just called Macroeconomics and, in my opinion, it’s the one that can reach the widest audience. That’s why I chose this one. He’s a great writer. It’s a classic and generation after generation of economists have gone through it. You cannot list five books on economics for undergraduates and not include this book. It would be like listing the five top guitarists from the 1960s and not including Jimi Hendrix. It’s very straightforward. For some people it could be challenging, but if you have an A-level in math—to use the British education system [final year US high-school math]—that would be enough to go through the entire book and more. Even with just a GCSE in math [10th grade in the US], that would be enough. That’s why the audience and the demand for the book is very broad, because it can it give you a very good introductory understanding of what macroeconomics is and how macroeconomists think about the economy, the world and so on, without getting too analytical."