Experiments with Economic Principles: Microeconomics

Rating:
Summary: Experimental Economics ... not as cool as it sounds.
Review: I had the fortune of being in an introductory economics class where the experimental approach along with this book is used. I already had lots of microeconomics background and scored a 5 on my AP micro and macro eco exam. I believe that experimental approach to economics, although can be interesting at times, is not suitable for students with little or no economics background. It is essential for students to have a solid grasp of important economic concepts such as marginal cost/revenue, opportunity cost, and the experimental approach lacks in that respect. I tried this course and this book, because I wanted a different angle on something I already knew, and I didn't get much out of it. If you're new to economics, and perhaps want to continue into more economics courses later on, this book/course is not the way. The chapters are no more than explanations of the experiments done in class. Very little reference material exists, and everything is over simplified. By the end of this book, students will not be able to draw the MC/MR/TR/TC curves for perfect competitions/monopoly/oligopoly/monopolistic competiton. I got an A in the course, not because the book was so helpful to me, but because I already knew the stuff before I even registered for the class.