Big Ideas in Macroeconomics

This fine book succeeds very nicely at its stated task: to explain the standard macroeconomic theory used by central banks around the world without equations. This book is complex and sophisticated, yet clearly and transparently written. The author is honest concerning the weaknesses of this model, but confident that most can be overcome in the future. If you have heard the chorus of critics since the financial crisis of 2008, and if you are serious about understanding the issues, this is a good place to start.

Herbert Gintis, Santa Fe Institute

Using only the English language, Kartik Athreya conveys to a nonspecialist audience what modern macroeconomists do, why we do it using specific rules of engagement, and why we end up thinking what we think. Big Ideas in Macroeconomics is to my knowledge the only book of its kind.

Mark Huggett, Professor of Economics, Georgetown University

The first year of graduate macroeconomics is hard for aspiring economists and demands much of their instructors. But matters just became easier. Kartik Athreya's beautiful book summarizes the main ideas in macroeconomics with lucid prose and insightful commentary. Graduate students can peek at it to understand the big picture, and faculty can learn a thing or two from it about why we teach what we teach. I have read the book twice, cover to cover, and each time it helped me to rethink many of the things I thought I knew. Furthermore, adventurous undergraduates, economists who have lost touch with the frontier of macro, and curious readers in general will find in this slim volume a truly wonderful and nontechnical summary of the 'rules of the game' for our field.

Jesús Fernández-Villaverde, University of Pennsylvania