Cartoon Introduction to Economics, Volume I: Microeconomics 59020th Edition

My teen son loves this!

I am a fan of this format for helping people understand economic ideas, and I bought this book (and its successor on macroeconomics) to see how well they convey important or complex ideas. (Here's my review of their book on climate change.) My overall comment is that the authors (Bauman on text, Klein on illustrations) do a great job, which means that I will recommend this book to students who are (justifiably) turned off by over-formal mathematical explanations of economic ideas.The most important decision of the authors is their choice of which microeconomic topics to cover. They present the material in three parts, each with 5-6 chapters, i.e.,I. The optimizing individualIndividual v group outcomesDecision trees ("opportunity costs")TimeRiskFrom one to some (next part)II. Strategic interactionsCake cutting (equity or fairness)Pareto efficiencySimultaneous move games (prisoner's dilemma)AuctionsFrom some to many (next part)III. Market interactionsSupply and demandTaxesMargins (marginal thinking)ElasticityThe big picture (lots of exceptions to the ideas above)ConclusionMy only comments on the text are slightly nit-picky, but I think relevant:It's important to remember that individual "discount rates" are not the same as interest rates when it comes to making decisions about costs now for future benefits. Many students confuse the two, and this book does as well.Neanderthals are presented as rather dumb compared to homo sapiens when they were actually smarter as individuals. Homo Sapiens had the advantages of language and thus group cooperation, which is why we took over from neanderthals.Far more should have been said about various impediments to efficient markets, as most readers have experience with imperfect markets.The authors should have clarified that market economics provides limited insights that political economy can better explain, i.e., how communities can provide "goods," the source and need to regulate negative externalities, etc. (read more here).Bottom line: I give this book FIVE STARS for being entertaining at the same time as it makes it easier to understand important economic ideas.

I was about to let my 10 years old son read it. It turns out I like it too! 🤓He likes it as well. It's funny and easy to understand. If you want your child or yourself know a little bit about economy. This is a good entry level book.

I'm currently a graduate student and needed to brush up on my economics skills (I took a few econ classes in undergrad but it's been a few years). A friend of mine recommended getting this book because it was fairly light reading and would re-introduce me to some of the long forgotten (perhaps purposely so) economics topics. I was a bit skeptical but figured it was better than the alternative - reading an actual econ textbook. The book is an easy read - I would leave it on the coffee table and pick it up occasionally when I was feeling productive - and it applies economic theories to easy-to-understand situations (someone should tell university professors to take a cue from this book). In sum, as someone who has had a few semesters of university-level economics coursework, this was a great refresher.My one caveat is that I believe this should be used as a supplement. I would not recommend using this book alone if you're trying to grasp economic theory from a beginner's point of view. It explains some key things but I don't think I would have truly understood microeconomics if I hadn't already learned in class (or through other more detailed books). This might be a good book to read as you are completing an economics course or preparing to take another course and need a refresher. There is a lot to be learned from this book, including the fact that all economists have the same dry sense of humor.

I used this for homeschooling. It's fun, very clear, and does a good job explaining economics. I liked it so well I just bought volume 2.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Cartoon Introduction to Economics. The fundamental ideas in Microeconomics are presented in a clear and intelligent manner, with many humorous but thoughtful examples and analogies. The organization of the book is clean and logical, moving from the "optimizing individual" to "strategic interactions" of small groups to "market interactions" involving many people. A wide variety of topics are distilled down to their essence (decision trees, risk, pareto efficiency, auctions, trade, supply and demand, taxes, elasticity, etc.). Klein's whimsical and funny illustrations add a great deal to the text, and hold the reader's interest while at the same time helping to explain the various concepts and examples. This book is appropriate for many different ages and backgrounds, from high school or college students studying econ to the average adult seeking a little more knowledge and understanding of basic economic principles. I've read parts of it several times, and find that I get a deeper understanding of some of the more complicated and nuanced concepts the second time through. My one (minor) complaint is that this otherwise quick read bogs down a bit in some of the later chapters (e.g. margins and elasticity) with too much theory (and not enough jokes?). But this is a minor issue, and on the whole I enthusiastically recommend this book for both econ students and for people who just want to learn more about the topic (and have fun doing it).