Recommendations for good Economics book (new syllabus)?

[Brenda Wijaya]

I'm on the look for good Economics book (new syllabus). My teacher is new to IB and my school. He barely know about the new syllabus, thus we ended up using the old 2007 economics book produced by Oxford (the blue one Jocelyn Blink & Ian Dorton course companion).

I'm taking Economics HL and the worst thing is that my teacher is totally new in IB and the school. Cool isn't it?

Anyways, I need your recommendations/ reviews about the economics books (new syllabus), please do share any informations/links about it!

Here are the books that I have as options to make purchases on:

1. Economics for the IB Diploma by Ellie Tragakes (Cambridge, November 2011)

http://www.amazon.com/Economics-Diploma-CD-ROM-Ellie-Tragakes/dp/0521186404/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345301470&sr=8-1&keywords=9780521186407

2. IB Economics Skills and Practice by Constantine Ziogas (Oxford, November 2011)

http://www.amazon.com/IB-Diploma-Economics-International-Baccalaureate/dp/0199128618/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345301560&sr=8-1&keywords=9780199128617

So, for those of you who are taking the exam on Economics (HL) in 2013 onwards, what are your recommendations/reviews/books you are using?

Your informations are highly appreciated!

Thank You!

[Brenda Wijaya]

My school offers all 3 books you have mentioned. Which is great if you want a diverse range of information, However the primary books we use in class is the blue book by Jocelyn Blink and Ian Dorton, the second edition. The second edition is great, sums up everything quite well and is easy to read.

Hope that helps?

Thank You for your input. It helps a lot.
Have you ever used the other 2 books I mentioned as well? If you do, any reviews?

I am using the old version (Jocelyn Brink) right now, if you knew about it, can you tell the difference between the old and the new version? Is there much difference about it or only slight differences? Because I feel like wasting money if there is only slight differences between the 2 books.

And which do you think is a better combination:
1. Cambridge by Ellie Tragakes and IB Skills & Practice
(together with the old 2007 Jocelyn Brink that I owned, opportunity cost: not having 2nd Edition)

2. 2nd Edition by Jocelyn Brink and IB Skills & Practice
(opportunity cost: not having the Ellie Cambridge)

Your reply is highly appreciated !
Thank You for your time!

[mayank06090]

The book my Ellie Tragakes is quite detailed. It closely follows the new syllabus with the mathematics part for HL. It also involves supplementary material to improve your understanding.

[CkyBlue]

In my opinion the 2nd edition Course Companion by Blink and Dorton should be good enough to prepare you for the exam. Just read it over, do your work and make sure you understand the concepts and you will be fine.

The changes between the first and second edition should not matter very much for you; just get the book, because (you have even mentioned it) there is a new syllabus for Economics. The second edition features those new topics on the syllabus, mentioning different IA requirements and scopes (I know for a fact that there the word count rule has changed), weighing of exams (content on exams have changed as well), and potentially cut off some topics out of the old syllabus. As you may have guessed, this isn't in the first edition.

It is also in colour.

[Brenda Wijaya]

In my opinion the 2nd edition Course Companion by Blink and Dorton should be good enough to prepare you for the exam. Just read it over, do your work and make sure you understand the concepts and you will be fine.

The changes between the first and second edition should not matter very much for you; just get the book, because (you have even mentioned it) there is a new syllabus for Economics. The second edition features those new topics on the syllabus, mentioning different IA requirements and scopes (I know for a fact that there the word count rule has changed), weighing of exams (content on exams have changed as well), and potentially cut off some topics out of the old syllabus. As you may have guessed, this isn't in the first edition.

It is also in colour.

sorry for keep on questioning, I have the 1st edition right now with me (which is sadly a waste?) and do you think it is better to purchase the 2nd edition or Ellie Tragakes http://www.amazon.com/Economics-Diploma-CD-ROM-Ellie-Tragakes/dp/0521186404/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345517979&sr=8-1&keywords=9780521186407Cambridge?

PS: What word count rule has changed??? (I'm clueless )

Thank You very much for your time!

[CkyBlue]

Well the first edition isn't waste, but again there are topics that it covers that aren't on the new syllabus and topics it doesn't cover that are. Unfortunately I don't have any experience with the Tragakes textbook. But maybe you should get a few more opinions to make an informed decision. To be honest though even if the Tragakes is better than the Blink and Dorton, I don't think you could go wrong by purchasing the latter. Even though the outline has changed, I scored an easy 6 on the HL course without studying one major unit and one topic that was always covered on the papers using the first edition (even though the syllabus has changed now).

I've actually had the 2nd edition book for my first semester in IB2 because my school did not have enough first editions and I still found the content concise and understandable.

Here you go. I don't think the syllabus is likely to change within one year:

For 2013 candidates:

A note on word limit for economics IAs

The following are NOT(!!!!!!) included in the word count:

- Acknowledgments

- Contents page

- Diagrams

- Labels (of five words or fewer)

- Headings on diagrams (of 10 words or fewer)

- Tables of statistical data

- Equations, formulae, and calculations

- Citations (which, if used, must be in the body of the commentary)

- References (which, if used, must be in the footnotes/endnotes)

Note: footnotes/endnotes may be used for references only. Definitions of economic terms and quotations, if used, must be in the body of the work and are included in the word count. Please note that a citation is a shorthand method of making a reference in the body of the commentary, which is then linked to the full reference in the footnotes/endnotes.

Hope that helps.