I was very encouraged with the reception of the first edition, from both staff and students. Correspondence eliminated a number of errors and helped me to improve clarity. Some of the new sections are in response to communications I received.

The book has retained its basic structure, but there have been extensive revisions to the text. Part I, containing the mathematical background, has been considerably enhanced in all chapters. All chapters contain new material. This new material is largely in terms of the mathematical content, but there are some new economic examples to illustrate the mathematics. Chapter 1 contains a new section on dimensionality in economics, a much-neglected topic in my view. Chapter 3 on discrete systems has been extensively revised, with a more thorough discussion of the stability of discrete dynamical systems and an extended discussion of solving second-order difference equations. Chapter 5 also contains a more extensive discussion of discrete systems of equations, including a more thorough discussion of solving such systems. Direct solution methods using Mathematica and Maple are now provided in the main body of the text. Indirect solution methods using the Jordan form are new to this edition. There is also a more thorough treatment of the stability of discrete systems.