Fernando Constantino
Textbooks
Textbooks have changed over time substantially, whether it is the aesthetics of the book or the change in audience to which it is intended for. The audience to which these textbooks are intended for has become more visual learners than before, where television was not heard of nor was the internet. Textbooks have to become more visual with graphs and color diagrams to please a broader pool of “intelligent layman”. There are more people following a higher education than before, which broadens the audience. In a time where everything is fast and easy the textbooks of the past would not be understood and would be ignored. Everything is simple and direct so a textbook with no graphs and images would be forgotten and not learned. Earlier textbooks were made with minimal amounts of graphs and only presented text. The textbooks were not simplified nor were they clarified if someone did not understandthey would have to find a way to figure it out.
Taussig’s was one of those textbooks that was hard to understand and had rarely any footnotes to help clarify anything. The textbooks were very dry and had very few graphs. The graphs it did have were hard to decipher and still were not understandable. His textbooks were not very “economics” type, they were more theory based. He would go on and on about an idea, but never really explain it. I was taught that graphs were the heart of economics and shown on graphs how the economy works. Taussig’s textbook was page after page of text. I personally did not find it interesting or helpful.
Economics, by Paul A. Samuelson and later William D. Nordhaus was a textbook that I was really able note changes in content over time. The textbook evolved extensively over time. A slightly different edition was published about every three years. The content and the views were also changed to adapt to the economies situation at the time and to the audience in which it was directed. He is a great author because he knew how and in which way to introduce material to a student in order for him/her to understand the ideas presented in the textbook. He stated when he was writing his first edition, “I said to myself: What should an intelligent person know about economics in this last half of the twentieth century” which shows that Samuelson was ahead of his time as being an author.He tried not to convey his personal beliefs, but ended up doing so, which he later noticed and changed. He was never stubborn, through his textbook he would change the ideas he presentedin order to evolve with the norm of the economy. In his beginning editions he would only talk about Keynesian economics and none other, but later he changed his perspective and used all schools of thought, not just one. His ideas also changed with respect to fiscal and monetary policy. He initially stated that fiscal policy should be used for stabilizing the economy. He now states the opposite in his latest editions. He does not totally dismiss it, but changed his view. He is able to keep up with new events and new theories.
“McGraw-Hill has cooperated magnificently in producing a book whose print, color diagrams, and layout have been designed with the sole purpose of aiding in mastery of the economy subject matter.” Samuelson’s books became simpler to read over time. He would introduce more and more graphs and diagrams in every new edition. He adjusts his ideas and compares and contrasts his own ideas with the ideas of other economists. A student is able to see the big picture and not just learn a skewed version of what one person thinks.
In his latest edition the preface explains all that is changed in the new edition. He mentions many times that subjects are changed “to be clear”. In earlier editions the preface would only speak of the ideas that were changed whether it is from Keynesian economics to neo-classical or any other school of thought. Now he has imbedded all schools of thought so being clearer is his new objective. “We have poured over every chapter to improve the clarity of the exposition”. The glossary was not introduced in his textbooks until the twelfth edition, which now has bolded words throughout the book that are easily found in the glossary.
Gregory Mankiw’s new text has very vivid colors and highlighted sections, so a student knows which ideas are important. Side notes are placed next to the section so the paragraph can be understood easily. Each section of each chapter is color coded so one can easily find the information one is looking for without looking throughout the whole text. His textbooks now come with an interactive CD. The CD has animations, tests, and a variety of tools a student could use to understand the material better.
In conclusion, introductory economics textbooks have changed over time to become clear and understandable. It seems as if economics textbook’s new objectives are to become simple. New theories are coming out but the majority are very complicated and not really material for an introductory course. So these authors have all the information that must be in an introductory course and have seen it presented in hundreds of different ways. Also coming into play is the youth of today growing up on technology. Technology has made it so that information is received at an exceptional speed. A textbook has to compete with youth that expects the information to be clear and direct. Difficult concepts must be simplified to a model that is easily reproduced for a test and explained if needed to. Information has evolved and these authors have changed the concepts with time adapting to not only new theories but the way the theories are presented.
References
Arnold, Roger Macroeconomics1998 4th edition
Mankiw, Gregory Macroeconomics 2006 6th edition
Mskousen.com “The perseverance of Paul Samuelson’s Economics” by Mark Skousen
Samuelson, Paul A. EconomicsNew York: McGraw-Hill1961 (5th edition), 1967 (7th edition)
______and William D. Nordhaus EconomicsNew York: McGraw-Hill 1989 13th edition
Taussig, F.W. Principles of Economics 1939 4th edition Volume I and II