Economics, 3rd Edition

By: Timothy Taylor, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Timothy Taylor

Length: 18 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

Economic issues are active in our lives every day. However, when the subject of economics comes up in conversation or on the news, we can find ourselves longing for a more sophisticated understanding of the fundamentals of economics.

These thirty-six lectures will help you think about and discuss economic issues that affect you and the nation every day-interest rates, unemployment, personal investing, budget deficits, globalization, and many more-with a greater level of knowledge and sophistication. They require no special or advanced knowledge of mathematics. Instead, you'll learn economics through intuitive explanations and in plain English.

Professor Taylor's first 18 lectures focus on "microeconomics," or looking at economics "from the bottom up." You'll study the behavior of individuals, households, and firms; and how they interact in markets for goods, labor, and saving and investment. Topics in microeconomics include: supply and demand in the free market, monopolies and regulated competition, and public goods.

The second eighteen lectures cover "macroeconomics," or studying the economy "from the top down." Here you will examine the factors that help economists evaluate the economy on a national and global scale. Among these macroeconomic issues are: common ways the government taxes and spends, the relationship between employment and inflation, and international exchange rates.

Throughout, Professor Taylor helps you apply what you are learning to many of today's most frequently discussed and misunderstood issues.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2005 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2005 The Great Courses

Good, but dense.

Would you listen to Economics, 3rd Edition again? Why?

To try and refresh my understanding.

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

The professor seemed genuinely passionate about the subject of economics.

Which character – as performed by Professor Timothy Taylor – was your favorite?

Himself.

If you could give Economics, 3rd Edition a new subtitle, what would it be?

Economics, 4th Edition

Recommended book for MBA students

Currently doing my MBA and wanted an audiobook to listen to when I am at work or in the gym or just about doing anything, this book was a great choice. Not only is the content superb, but it is also evident this course is being guided by an erudite lecturer. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to improve their knowledge in the economy or students doing economics.

Good overview of macro and micro economics

I think this series of lectures is a good overview of macro and micro economics.

Wow

Can't believe I'm binge listening economics. Super entertaining, easy to listen and you learn so much

Every lesson a classic

Thank you Tim for your thoughtful lectures. I agree with others that this series has stood the test of time. Perhaps a final chapter to bring us up to date with the crash of 2008. My favourite bit, the anecdote on pricing with George Bernard Shaw.

Perfect guide to understanding Economics

After finishing this audiobook I honestly feel that I understand Economics and misconceptions about it much better. Prof. Taylor is an excellent speaker, he obviously knows his subject in depth and he has great sense of humor.
I am looking forward to putting my newly acquired knowledge to test when I hear something about Economics in the news and I can say "hey, I understand what this means and what consequences this might have!"
I only wished this audiobook/course was updated with an extra chapter with what has changed since 2005, when this was recorded.

Great Introduction that Needs an Out-of-Date Label

Though I was already familiar with most of the concepts, I took this course primarily as a refresher and to improve my economics terminology vocabulary. The course achieved exactly what I was looking for, so I was not disappointed. That being said, this course needs to be updated. Most of the Great Courses that I have taken so far are fairly timeless—e.g., the history of World War I has not changed much in the last five years. While the basic concepts presented in this course are timeless, most of the statistics and some of the concepts were badly out-of-date. This course was recorded before the start of the Great Recession, so the economic data presented is nearly a decade old and fails to include one of the largest economic disturbances of the last hundred years. It would have been very helpful to hear the professor's point-of-view on the events leading up to the Great Recession and how the economy has recovered since then. As an example of how the course is out-of-date, there is section in the course where the professor talks about how the last several recessions had been relatively mild—obviously, that has changed. The out-of-date aspect of the course was particularly noticeable in the last two lectures, which focused on the "current" economic growth of international markets. As a side note, the professor gained a lot of credibility during one of the lectures when he discussed the then-current housing bubble and expressed his fears that the bubble might burst in a terrible way, as it actually did just a short while afterwards.

The course covers microeconomic concepts such as supply and demand as well as macroeconomic concepts such as the role of the Federal Reserve. The course is generally apolitical often presenting both the liberal and conservative view of the same economic issue. The primary goal of the course is to make the listener begin thinking like an economist, and I believe the course makes good strides toward this goal.

This course is not for you if you are looking for current economic information. If, however, you are looking for a course with a broad overview that does a good job of teaching terminology and putting concepts into context, then this is a great course. The professor is clear and intelligent and organizes the material in a logical and concise manner. The professor ties concepts together between lectures and builds on lessons. There is little to criticize, and much to learn, except for the glaring "out-of-date" label that should be plastered on the front cover.

Useful!

This course explains economic ideas in a very intuitive way. It is separated in two parts: microeconomics and macroeconomics. Microeconomics examines issues such as labor, loans, and private consumption, while macroeconomics examines issues such as the global market, banking, inflation, etc. The speaker even introduces an example from game theory to illustrate his point. This program is highly recommended for anyone looking to expand their understanding in such topics.

Extremely Informative

As someone who never enjoyed economics, this was a revelation. It is thorough yet digestible to those who are not economically inclined. The author starts with microeconomics, which is fairly intuitive, and reserves the latter half for macroeconomics, which requires more theoretical frameworks and is less intuitive. He eases you in to the difficult parts, but also leads with examples when approaching a complicated theory. The context provided for each subject is greatly appreciated. My one gripe would be with his attempts at humor, which exist on a spectrum of cringe that ranges from awkward to sexist. These comments are rare and don't detract from the worth of this lecture series.

Glad I purchased....

This lecture series was a great refresher to my college economic class days...although a bit dated, it's interesting to see how things have developed since the recording of the lectures. The lecturer has been spot on in some of his assessments as to how he believed the economy will behave, versus how it has actually turned out.