Dr. Telly Kamelia 
If you only need the buying answer
The cheapest routes for Development and Social Change are rental and short digital access, not the current print listing. So if you only need temporary access, those paths win on first cost. The current print listing still matters because it sits well below the sampled new-print market and remains a reasonable ownership option for readers who want to keep the book for later coursework or policy discussion.
| Format | Source | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Merybook | $79.24 | Check price | |
| Semester rental | Rental market | $54.38 | Check price |
| Digital (180 days) | Digital market | $67.00 | Check price |
| New print market | Retail market | $116.04 to $138.81 | Check price |
This is another split case. Short-term access wins on price. Print only becomes attractive when the student wants a durable copy at a lower ownership price than the broader market is offering.
What this book actually teaches
A development-and-social-change text matters because it helps students think critically about inequality, modernization, globalization, institutions, power, and the competing frameworks people use to explain social transformation. A strong book in this area is often more useful than it first appears because the debates it teaches recur in sociology, policy, global studies, and development work.
That is why some students still prefer ownership. A print copy can remain useful when later assignments or discussions return to development, policy, and global change. But the market itself is saying clearly that the cheapest option is not ownership.
Who should choose short-term access and who should buy print
Choose rental or short digital access if your priority is the lowest immediate cost. Buy print only if you want a kept copy and expect the material to matter again later. In the current market, short-term access wins on price and print only wins on ownership preference.
