Re: Intermediate texts
John Bigelow (ECON1286@MIZZOU1.missouri.edu)
Fri, 09 Apr 93 14:30:36 CDT
On Thu, 8 Apr 93 22:45:23 EDT John Fitzgerald said:
>At Bowdoin College, we are using Varian. This semester is my first time with
>it, but another instructor used it for 3 semesters. I like it because it is
>very clean. Students with good quantitative skills like it for that reason as
>well. Students who do not like math find it difficult--they say "unclear", but
>I think it is very clear, just quantitative and hard for some.
> I also like that it fully explains the Slutsky equation so that
>students can work with it algebraically. The Slutsky idea is carried through
>several chapters which unifies consumer theory, labor supply, saving behavior
>in a nice way. I like the examples in Frank, but the Slutsky equation is not
>even mentioned in the book (check the index).
> On the down side for Varian, there is some heavy going. For example,
>Walras law is demonstrated algebraically.
> I may bow to the median student and try a text like Frank next time.
>Alternatively, I may repitch the course and use Varian again. I taught
>constrained maximization with Lagrangians and have used them throughout the
>course. This may have been a bigger problem than the text.
>
A couple of years ago, while teaching intermediate micro, I decided to use
two textbooks. This was a *very* unpopular idea with my students. I
appreciated the clarilty and rigor of Varian, but it is rather formal. On
the other hand, McCloskey is quite informal but intuitive. I used both. My
students felt that *McCloskey* was by far the harder of the two. They
praised Varian consistently. The next semester when I used only Varian,
they thought it was much too hard.
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