It is the recommended text for students as an introduction to economics. However, the students who do health economics preferred it to other standard texts as their first foray into principles.


Clear, concise and logical.   July 26, 2001
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

Having had no previous experience in the field of economics, I found this book to be comprehensive without being complicated. I found Begg's use of diagrams to explain complex models very useful. In addition I found the text to be easy to follow due to its logical progression through the earliest to the latest economic models. Whilst the book seeks to teach the fundamental principles of modern day economics, it does not bore the reader with dry text - the inclusion of separate text boxes with applied examples adds to the worth of this book.


Simple and friendly, but not convincing.   April 18, 2001
 4 out of 5 found this review helpful

I'm in the second year of a three year undergraduate economics course. I have a copy of an earlier edition (without the CD), and used it for first year undergraduate study. I found that in an effort to simplify low level economics, it avoids a lot of the important stuff. It is only really much use as an introduction, good to read before you get to university, perhaps. I haven't been able to use it this year at all. Its explanations are generally clear, though sometimes a bit wordy. It relates theory to fact quite nicely, and is well organised. As a reference book, it is not so useful; it seems to be more geared towards working through individual chapters.