What do you think?
Rate this book
The Cartoon Introduction to Economics #2
The Cartoon Introduction to Economics, Volume II: Macroeconomics
Need to understand today's economy? This is the book for you. The Cartoon Introduction to Economics, Volume Macroeconomics is the most accessible, intelligible, and humorous introduction to unemployment, inflation, and debt you'll ever read. Whereas Volume Microeconomics dealt with the optimizing individual, Volume Macroeconomics explains the factors that affect the economy of an entire country, and indeed the planet. It explores the two big concerns of how economies grow and why economies collapse. It illustrates the basics of the labor market and explains what the GDP is and what it measures, as well as 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, buy this book.
240 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 20, 2011
55 people are currently reading
954 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
March 4, 2024
Second part of this great GN...really helped me understand key concepts in economic theories. This is a great into to ME for a college bound student; it would be a great gift to give them the summer before they went to college. Explains many topics that are fundamental to understanding ME in a fun (but serious) way. The illustrations really help you visualize the concepts!
April 12, 2012
Just as good as volume one. Mind you, macroeconomics is a *lot* harder to understand than microeconomics. This book really helps to make it understandable (but I still don't really know how it all works).
April 23, 2012
Just like the Micro one, this is a nice quick and fun tutorial of economics for all ages. Very fair to all sides of economic debates as well.
June 28, 2012
A fantastic introduction to the world of macroeconomics. Full of really clear-cut explanations with some great illustrations and humor. I am curious if more people would learn if they used comic books in education.
October 27, 2015
A great companion to the surprisingly fantastic first volume on Microeconomics.
Continuing in the same vein as the first book, with little pirates and such like explaining the basic theories of economics, this book and its companion make what is very dry, and overtly complex material clear, simple and importantly painless.
The book covers unemployment, money, inflation, GDP, government, trade, technology, aid and currencies, gradually increasing the scale of theory from the individual nation to international relations (in line with the microeconomic book moving from the individual to the group to the many) and then concludes with a some open questions about the future of the world as a whole - business cycles (i.e. the current financial mess), poverty, the environment and demographics (i.e. the aging population).
These ideas are described amazingly succinctly, so much so that not only do I feel I now have a vague grasp of macroeconomic theory, but that I also want to learn more about it. Whilst most people retain some knowledge of "economics" grasped through the media and following politics and world events, this book does a very good job of outlining the academic theory that underlies it, and in a sense is quite separated from the Punch & Judy of politics. I certainly finished the book feeling economics theory had something to contribute to society, more than just as a political bludgeon. Though there is discussion of the politics as well, in particular the classical-Keynesian-Milton-post-Keysian progression, which again is an academic economic debate that seems to have great significance for society and something we should be all a bit more aware of.
I recommend this book (along with its companion on Microeconomics) to anyone beginning their study in economics, or to academics and business professionals, who find they are crossing over into the subject more and need a basic understanding of the subject - even if it is just to understand what the economist is saying. Indeed, perhaps the most important aspect of these books, is that they explain very well 'how economists think', which will greatly aide with communication.
Continuing in the same vein as the first book, with little pirates and such like explaining the basic theories of economics, this book and its companion make what is very dry, and overtly complex material clear, simple and importantly painless.
The book covers unemployment, money, inflation, GDP, government, trade, technology, aid and currencies, gradually increasing the scale of theory from the individual nation to international relations (in line with the microeconomic book moving from the individual to the group to the many) and then concludes with a some open questions about the future of the world as a whole - business cycles (i.e. the current financial mess), poverty, the environment and demographics (i.e. the aging population).
These ideas are described amazingly succinctly, so much so that not only do I feel I now have a vague grasp of macroeconomic theory, but that I also want to learn more about it. Whilst most people retain some knowledge of "economics" grasped through the media and following politics and world events, this book does a very good job of outlining the academic theory that underlies it, and in a sense is quite separated from the Punch & Judy of politics. I certainly finished the book feeling economics theory had something to contribute to society, more than just as a political bludgeon. Though there is discussion of the politics as well, in particular the classical-Keynesian-Milton-post-Keysian progression, which again is an academic economic debate that seems to have great significance for society and something we should be all a bit more aware of.
I recommend this book (along with its companion on Microeconomics) to anyone beginning their study in economics, or to academics and business professionals, who find they are crossing over into the subject more and need a basic understanding of the subject - even if it is just to understand what the economist is saying. Indeed, perhaps the most important aspect of these books, is that they explain very well 'how economists think', which will greatly aide with communication.
April 22, 2013
If you have an economics degree, you probably don't need this book. However I, being a dyslexic amateur economics enthusiast, learned a hell of a lot. It does a good job with a lot of tough terminology, by using cartoon-y scenarios that help to make macroeconomics make sense on a micro-level. It's a very, VERY quick read, and more informative than it has any right to be.
December 18, 2019
5 🌟
One of the finest book read on Introduction to Macroeconomics.
One word, to anyone who fears economics try reading Yoram Bauman books on economics to start and you would fall in love with economics.
This book is so witty and funny on every page. Most complex topics that affect our daily lives are explained in such a fantastic manner he is truly one of a kind "Stand-Up Economist".
One of the finest book read on Introduction to Macroeconomics.
One word, to anyone who fears economics try reading Yoram Bauman books on economics to start and you would fall in love with economics.
This book is so witty and funny on every page. Most complex topics that affect our daily lives are explained in such a fantastic manner he is truly one of a kind "Stand-Up Economist".
November 26, 2018
This book mentioned how little attention people pay to the 99% of the time that economists agree... which I am guilty of. But it also said that decades in the future none of them will agree with today's macroeconomists.
November 19, 2016
The Cartoon Introduction to Economics: Volume Two: Macroeconomics is a comprehensible, well-paced, and generally inclusive introduction to Macroeconomics. The cartoon artwork is simplistic and at first glance, rather ugly, but it grows on you. Cartoon Introduction Vol. 2 differs from Economix: How and Why Our Economy Works (and Doesn't Work), in Words and Pictures in three main ways:
1) The bias is right-wing or arguably centrist (eg right-wing Canadian Liberals)
2) The bias is much less pronounced than Economix
3) This is not a history book, it simply covers the fundamentals of Macroeconomics with the odd sentence-worth of historical information -- like a 'textbook-(very)lite.'
Cartoon Introduction Vol. 2 presents both Keynesian and Classical Liberal viewpoints on the economy, and in this sense it does so in a generally fair and balanced fashion. The view the reader gets from here is that economic theories are great and generally explain much of how the world works, but have trouble solving all problems.
The book covers: What is Macroeconomics?, unemployment, money, inflation/deflation (I found the deflation section the weakest explanation in the book), GDP, role of government, trade and tech, classical view of trade, complications to trade (free-trade is pushed as the only answer), foreign aid, foreign currencies, comparing the Great Depression to the 2008 Recession, dealing with poverty, the future of the earth, dealing with old age/retirement/social security, and a review of the book comparing sections discussed to sections from Volume 1.
Like economic theory, Cartoon Introduction Vol. 2 is also flawed, in that it leaves out discussion of some important initiatives, such as Fair Trade, and is hampered by a narrow world-view wherein something like pollution concern is mentioned in a few sentences. It also fails to deal with corrupt government or corruption in general, and the only real future concern the authors highlight as legitimate is climate change (the authors are climate change believers and consider it a market failure). The authors, or Macroeconomics in general, put too much faith in growth and technological progress as solutions to all problems, which leads me to conclude that Economics and economic theory should never be used to make major decisions without reference to History, Sociology, Psychology, Philosophy, and the Sciences too.
All-in-all, and additionally despite some very bad puns and jokes, this is a highly-educational and digestible read and economic education starting point. I wouldn't recommend it for anyone below senior High School level, but it would definitely make a fine High School course book (from which teachers can expand), and even a university level introductory book. It is certainly more approachable and perhaps rewarding to read than a massive Macro textbook.
True Rating: 4.2 Stars
1) The bias is right-wing or arguably centrist (eg right-wing Canadian Liberals)
2) The bias is much less pronounced than Economix
3) This is not a history book, it simply covers the fundamentals of Macroeconomics with the odd sentence-worth of historical information -- like a 'textbook-(very)lite.'
Cartoon Introduction Vol. 2 presents both Keynesian and Classical Liberal viewpoints on the economy, and in this sense it does so in a generally fair and balanced fashion. The view the reader gets from here is that economic theories are great and generally explain much of how the world works, but have trouble solving all problems.
The book covers: What is Macroeconomics?, unemployment, money, inflation/deflation (I found the deflation section the weakest explanation in the book), GDP, role of government, trade and tech, classical view of trade, complications to trade (free-trade is pushed as the only answer), foreign aid, foreign currencies, comparing the Great Depression to the 2008 Recession, dealing with poverty, the future of the earth, dealing with old age/retirement/social security, and a review of the book comparing sections discussed to sections from Volume 1.
Like economic theory, Cartoon Introduction Vol. 2 is also flawed, in that it leaves out discussion of some important initiatives, such as Fair Trade, and is hampered by a narrow world-view wherein something like pollution concern is mentioned in a few sentences. It also fails to deal with corrupt government or corruption in general, and the only real future concern the authors highlight as legitimate is climate change (the authors are climate change believers and consider it a market failure). The authors, or Macroeconomics in general, put too much faith in growth and technological progress as solutions to all problems, which leads me to conclude that Economics and economic theory should never be used to make major decisions without reference to History, Sociology, Psychology, Philosophy, and the Sciences too.
All-in-all, and additionally despite some very bad puns and jokes, this is a highly-educational and digestible read and economic education starting point. I wouldn't recommend it for anyone below senior High School level, but it would definitely make a fine High School course book (from which teachers can expand), and even a university level introductory book. It is certainly more approachable and perhaps rewarding to read than a massive Macro textbook.
True Rating: 4.2 Stars
August 26, 2014
I enjoyed this just as much as the first volume. It might've been a bit more of a challenge to present this material because there are fewer solid principals, and more controversy in Macroeconomics than in Micro. I think the authors have presented a good and entertaining overview of those competing views here. As in the first volume I think they've also done a good job at giving guideposts toward further study of these topics. I love all the little asides in the book. All very fun and informative, and I continued to enjoy Grady Klein's artwork.
May 7, 2012
From the concisely written table of contents to the panel by panel explanation at the end of the book, Macroeconomics has never been easier to digest. This would be an excellent tool for teachers and parents to introduce young readers or children to the concept of macroeconomics. The drawings although fun and lively are bit too stylistic for my taste. Overall I recommend this title as a partner tool to the study of macroeconomics.
August 4, 2016
An understandably more complex book than its companion on Microeconomics. But Bauman's treatment of world trade and globalization (roughly the 2nd half of the book) is pleasingly clear and concise, helping the reader make sense of the issues while not providing any simplistic answers. I wish many Americans would come to the realization asserted by Bauman that the world is a complex place without easy, simplistic answers.
October 21, 2016
The one on Microeconomics was a shade better. But this is also excellent. Easy to understand, and a fun read.
May 16, 2022
Vẫn hay và đặc biệt như những cuốn sách khác cùng bộ. Tuy nhiên hơi đáng tiếc là các khái niệm về kinh tế nó vừa gắn với nhau và nó vừa rời rạc chứ khó để có thể hệ thống và dễ hiểu như các cuốn khác trong bộ sách này
December 22, 2020
Me gustó mucho que los autores intentan mantener equilibrio entre las distintas escuelas de pensamiento macroeconómico; evitando, en lo posible, dar juicios de valor sobre una u otra.
December 15, 2022
Логическое продолжение первой книги этого дуэта авторов. Очень живо и весело рассказывается о насущных проблемах нашего общества в масштабе всей планеты.
Рекомендую к прочтению.
Рекомендую к прочтению.
March 13, 2024
I like this more than the micro one. Perhaps the gist of macroecon concept is explained better in this one. Although I can't be sure of my statement's validity.
May 2, 2016
This was just as entertainingly informative as The Cartoon Introduction to Economics: Volume One: Microeconomics. All of the concepts were explained in easy-to-understand terms, and the illustrations stopped it from feeling dense. I was reading this as to review for the AP Econ test next week, but it turned out that there was surprisingly little overlap. I know that my econ class is a very small overview, but I was surprised at how many things there were in the book that I'd never even heard of.
I'd definitely recommend this for anyone looking for a quick, fun intro to econ.
I'd definitely recommend this for anyone looking for a quick, fun intro to econ.
February 10, 2017
A really well put together nonfiction comic book. The artist and author come together to make an important, if perhaps notoriously dull subject, engaging and accessible. That said, it did feel rather besotted with the Free Market.
March 19, 2015
I thought this book was a good companion to the first book, although It was more confusing as there was more vocabulary and I might have forgotten some of the things I learnt from the first book. For some parts it took me sometime to remember what it was, and the good thing about the book that at the book there is also the different vocabulary that you learn from the book at the back.
June 11, 2012
A fun review of economics.
August 2, 2012
When I'm ready to learn more about economics, I'm coming back to this easy to read and informative volume.
November 27, 2012
This book was super fun and actually helped in Macroeconomics class.
March 31, 2013
Econs is much more fun with pictures
January 12, 2016
There is no chapter on sovereign debt. Curious.
October 25, 2022
Rather than an intro, these two volumes serve even better as refreshers for folks who already have some basic economics knowledge. Since one can easily read these books in one go, one can stay quite high level without nerding out on the mechanics. I didn’t imagine econ could be explained so well without a single mention of first order conditions.
If I had a chance, I’d like to ask the authors what their process was like in creating the books. Were the jokes originally envisioned by the economist and then simply realized by the cartoonist? Or, were they visual interpretations of the economist's textual ideas by the cartoonist? I can tell this must have been a fun project for them both. Bravo!
If I had a chance, I’d like to ask the authors what their process was like in creating the books. Were the jokes originally envisioned by the economist and then simply realized by the cartoonist? Or, were they visual interpretations of the economist's textual ideas by the cartoonist? I can tell this must have been a fun project for them both. Bravo!
Read
February 12, 2023I love these series of Graphic books, on History, Statistics and now Economics.
AdamSmith said 'Microeconomics is like a well organized Family, which is the Classical View of Macroeconomics' - Wealth of Nations.
However after the 1929 Great Depression, this myth of well organized family was shattered & Keynes (another British economists, btw he belonged to the group of gay/bisexual group) came up with the Dysfunctional Family view of the economy, which explains the short terms crashes, busts & depression.
Keynes also came up with the first economics joke 'In the long run we are all dead'
These and many such important theories 'Sticky Wages, Sticky Prices, Invisible Hand' filled this book, explained with dollops of humour & fun.
Looking forward to reading the next 'MicroEconomics'
AdamSmith said 'Microeconomics is like a well organized Family, which is the Classical View of Macroeconomics' - Wealth of Nations.
However after the 1929 Great Depression, this myth of well organized family was shattered & Keynes (another British economists, btw he belonged to the group of gay/bisexual group) came up with the Dysfunctional Family view of the economy, which explains the short terms crashes, busts & depression.
Keynes also came up with the first economics joke 'In the long run we are all dead'
These and many such important theories 'Sticky Wages, Sticky Prices, Invisible Hand' filled this book, explained with dollops of humour & fun.
Looking forward to reading the next 'MicroEconomics'
August 18, 2025
A clear and well-drawn introduction to macroeconomics, this volume does a solid job of breaking down big-picture concepts like GDP, inflation, and monetary policy in an approachable way. The cartoon format makes the material less intimidating and more engaging than a standard textbook. While it doesn’t go into deep detail, it’s a good companion for anyone working through an MBA, an economics degree, or just exploring out of curiosity. Best suited as a starting point or refresher rather than a standalone resource.
August 9, 2019
It’s a fantastic way to understand macroeconomics. I learned a lot. It was easy to understand. And I understand the other side now. It’s not as cut and dry as a family budget like I always thought. And I now understand it’s based on a lot of theories. I’m going to read the microeconomics one. I think I understand that enough but this was so informative I want to know what I don’t know from that too.
July 21, 2024
Volume II is more fun and more intriguing at least to me. Volume I, Microeconomics, introduces statistical models which I often found puzzled to digest.
Finishing the Volume II, now I have firm understandings of Unemployment, Monetary Policy (liquidation), Inflation, GDP, Foreign Currency, and lastly, the two contending but reciprocal theories on Government intervention - Keynesian (in the short run) vs Classical (in the long run) views.
Finishing the Volume II, now I have firm understandings of Unemployment, Monetary Policy (liquidation), Inflation, GDP, Foreign Currency, and lastly, the two contending but reciprocal theories on Government intervention - Keynesian (in the short run) vs Classical (in the long run) views.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews