A Dictionary of Economics is the most comprehensive, authoritative, and up-to-date reference on economics available. Here, well-known and highly respected author John Black provides clear and jargon-free definitions for over 4,000 entries, including the most recent terms and concepts in economics as well as providing international coverage of economic organizations and institutions. This handy volume covers all aspects of economic theory, from microeconomics to public finance and international trade. Succinct explanations are given for mathematical and statistical terms widely used in economics, as well as words from related areas such as business and finance. Anyone wanting a quick and complete guide to the sometimes confusing and convoluted terms associated with economics will find A Dictionary of Economics an indispensable source of reference in the classroom, home, or office.

Oxford dictionary of economics 4th ed.
John Black, Nigar Hashimzade and Gareth Myles
Oxford University Press, 2012.
464 pages
ISBN: 9780199696321
This is a revised version of this paperback dictionary for 2012. It contains over 3400 entries, including 200 new concepts to cover
recent developments in economics and notably terms relevant to
the financial crisis, such as credit crunch. In addition to the A-Z arrangement the book includes appendices of institutional
acronyms, Nobel prize winners in economics, the Greek alphabet
(used in economic formulae) and a list of additional websites for
resources for studying economics, conference announcements,
finding employment.
The benefit of the print dictionary is that it provides a short,
authoritative definition of key terms one might come across in the
news or finance pages or in an introduction to economics. Its
focus is on explaining economic concepts themselves and in
general does not provide contextual information about who
introduced the concept or when it came to prominence. The
exception is important economic historic events such as Black
Monday or terms which have a very specific resonance for
example Black Swans - highly unlikely events which nevertheless
happen such as 9/11. Nor does the dictionary include specifics of
all the varieties of financial institutions and instruments. This
means that although the dictionary has been updated to reflect
recent economic events some common terms are omitted. Fannie
Mae and Freddie Mac are not included although Ginnie Mae is
cross referenced to Government National Mortgage Association
and there is an entry for sub-prime mortgages.
The dictionary does not contain URLs. Instead a symbol is used to
show where links have been recommended and the user can then
turn to the accompanying website. Unfortunately the companion
website lists the archive for the third edition at the top of the page,then appendices 1 and 4, then "web links" - where the real content is - followed by sample pages. The result is that, although instructions exist in the print book, the companion site is hardly welcoming. Despite the clunkiness of many of the URLs
recommended it might still be easier to just include them in the
book. Another issue with the web links section is that the links are arranged in alphabetical order by the dictionary concept rather than the website. So happiness index recommends the website of the World Values Survey, indexed under H in the companion website. Of course none of these problems occur in the online version. However for most readers the point of the paper
dictionary is not to go online but to check out the meaning of a
term in an offline situation. For this it is well suited.
Helen Edwards
SKOLKOVO Moscow School of Management