<p>What are some of the "easier" upper div econ classes (electives)?</p>
<p>Also, has anyone taken classes with any of the following profs? If so, how are they?
Galles
Hopenhayn
Swanson
Baim
Casanova-Rivas?
Meyer-Ter-Veyn?</p>
<p>183 w/ Boustan and 130 w/ Krop were pretty chill. Got an A and B+. Do recommend.</p>
<p>Econ 107 w/ Murphy was quite a bit of work, but doable (A-). If you take him, buy the lecture notes.</p>
<p>I had Hopenhayn for 171. He's useless at explaining things, but seems like a pretty nice fellow. You'll have to teach yourself everything, material was difficult. I worked real hard for a B.</p>
<p>Had Swanson for 122 for 4 weeks; dropped the day I took the midterm (drop deadline). He's difficult, but not impossible. I felt bad about the midterm and dropped because I didn't want to risk my GPA.</p>
<p>hopenhayn's rating is a 9.71 on bwalk dude. i wouldnt take him if i were you.</p>
<p>Hold on tight. I'll be posting my list soon...</p>
<p>Thanks. Looking forward to it.</p>
<p>Ok here goes:</p>
<p>Look for seminars. Seminars mean that the whole class will pretty much get some sort of A. B+ at the lowest. The problem is, there are not many seminars offered from the econ department due to the massive size, exodus of talent (professors), and the severe underfunded nature of the department. You may have inadvertently passed over them when looking through the course catalog, because econ "seminars" can have an enrollment cap at 50.</p>
<p>Here are the econ classes that I've taken, enjoyed, and did well in. I think I may be one of the few ppl in the department who went in the major because I was really interested in economics as a social science and not because it's the "closest thing to a business major" (for the record, I have found that I have absolutely NO interest in business classes like finance, ugh). I've taken more econ classes needed for my major, which is good because I have found a few gems that were definitely worth my time and probably rank near my favorite classes I've had at UCLA:</p>
<p>ECON M135 w/ Schwartz: Economics of Public Choice: Very chill professor. Ever get sick of doing nothing but solving equations and numerical problem sets to the point where you feel you might as well just be in a lower division math class? This class is taught from the standpoint of political theory, where you get to apply economics of public choice on everyday decisions…. Examples of discussion topics include issues like the paradox of power, paradox of representation, “why did so many people hang out flags following 9/11?” and “why do pork-barrel omnibuses enjoy unanimous support?” We had to write three short essays on defined topics such as relating the Paradox of Not Voting to other problems of political participation or identifying several problems with the hypothetical contractarianism demands of a set of rules/practices/institutions that would have been in everyone’s interest to agree to its establishment. Needless to say, if you are the type who just wants to solve your numerical equations without thinking, analyzing, and writing about economic concepts at depth, this may not be for you. But if you do, it's an easy A for sure. Seminar (capped around 10…better pray you have a good first pass time slot).</p>
<p>ECON M143 w/ Kahn: Environmental Economics: Kahn was a professor at Harvard, Columbia, and Stanford before coming here, so I'm convinced he hasn't lost his penchant for grade inflation. Everyone I knew got some sort of an A in the class, and probably no one got lower than a B+. Very intelligent dialogues going on in the class, it was unreal. Of course, a lot of that also has to do with your classmates, and I was lucky there because most made valuable contributions, not just empty comments. But Kahn is very good at steering the dialogues in a good direction and injecting his own insight and humor. The course was structured so that we discussed contemporary environmental economic issues for one lecture, and went over research in the other lecture. We examined environmental economics research in depth (not like in other classes, where you might sort of gloss over them or “read” over them and leave it at that), and had to critique the models, survey methods and connect them with real life situations and consequences. Research topics we examined included: effect of gasoline price on demand for fuel-efficient vehicles, the relationship between corporate social responsibility and irresponsibility, whether eco labels can derive price premiums, etc. The class has grown exponentially since I took it, so the structure of it now could be different from my experience.</p>
<p>ECON 187 w/ Rishe: Economics of Sports: Rishe was a visiting professor who was a revitalizing presence to the department. Fun class where you talk about the application of economics on the sports world instead of going over pointless problem sets. Highly recommended. Even my friends who weren't into sports found it interesting. I wouldn't call it an easy A (because he doesn't give more A's than the recommended departmental distribution), but the averages were pretty high. The material is easy to grasp because everyone probably has some knowledge of the sports world or has invested interest in it: sports market outcomes (leagues, team location, expansion), sports betting markets, competitive balance, broadcast rights in sports, structure of competition and impact on athlete performance, facility economics and financing, economics of pro vs college sports, etc. We did selected readings from the Sports Business Daily journal and had discussions on current topics like Olympics, financing methods of new stadiums, superstars losing sponsorships in bad economy, etc.</p>
<h2>ECON 183 w/ Boustan: Development of Economic Institutions in the US: If you are more of the strictly equation/numbers type person (a la McDevitt), you may find this class boring. But I found it pretty interesting. The class is a survey of how the US emerged as an economic leader of the past few centuries. Mostly economic application and reasoning. Topics include the economics of slavery, transportation revolution, causes of the Great Depression, women’s employment/education, the Gold Rush, etc. Her lectures reinforced the relevant readings, which for the most part, were very manageable and easy to digest. Extra credit option that was very easy and quick to complete. Fairly easy A.</h2>
<p>And I thought I'd mention this one, which is in no way in the same league as the ones listed above:</p>
<p>ECON 113 w/ Ozler: Gender and Economics in a Globalizing World This is EASY. You will get some sort of A for sure, since it's a "seminar". But it's the most boring "seminar" ever. I won’t even bother going into everything that’s lackluster about the class, but yeah, it’s an easy A. And everyone knows it, because it seems to be the upper division econ class that fills up the fastest, come enrollment.</p>
<p>thecheesecake: this is golden. thank you much.</p>