Cartoon Introduction to Economics Vol 2: Macroeconomics (The Cartoon Introduction to Economics) - Softcover

"The major concepts of macroeconomics are broken down with wit, verve, and clarity in this excellent follow-up to The Cartoon Introduction to Economics: Vol. 1: Microeconomics . . . This clever, lucid, and lighthearted book is a godsend to anyone who needs a simple but complete primer on the ins and outs of economics." --Publishers Weekly "People don't usually chuckle over unemployment, inflation, and recessions. But they'll get plenty of laughs out of this book--and a good introduction to macro too." --Eric Maskin, Nobel Laureate in Economics "If you don't want to cry about the state of the economy, why not laugh instead? This book is an ideal introduction to macroeconomics for anybody who thinks they ought to understand what's happening around them but is put off by dense text and economics jargon." --Diane Coyle, author of The Economics of Enough "Bauman [has] an insightful philosophical bent and the natural inclinations of an educator, in the best sense of that term." --MarginalRevolution.com

Whereas "Volume One: Microeconomics" dealt with the optimizing individual, "Volume Two: Macroeconomics" explains the factors that affect the economy of an entire country and, indeed, the planet. It explores the two big concerns of macroeconomics: how economies grow and why economies collapse. It also illustrates the basics of the labour market and unemployment, inflation and debt, what the GDP is and what it measures, and the influence of government, trade, and technology on the economy. Along the way it covers the economics of global poverty, climate change, and the business cycle. In short, if any of these topics have cropped up in a news story and caused you to wish you grasped the underlying basics, this book is for you. And while walking you through an entire introductory macroeconomics course, its cartoon characters - with cameos from Nobel Prize - winning economists such as Milton Friedman and Paul Krugman - take the sting out of the subject.