This class is the most reasonable Econ class at UCLA. It’s best quality is just the fact that the material you are taught actually reflects what you are tested on. If you understand the homework and the practice exams you will be fine. I wish this wasn’t such a positive but unfortunately in this department that really makes a class stand out. Beyond that the material itself is less useless than any other Econ class I have taken. Some of the concepts are quite interesting at a high level. Lu does make an effort to go into the psychology and studies behind different phenomenon but this being a UCLA Econ class most of it will be pointless and functionally useless math models that impart no understanding. I can’t really blame Professor Lu for this and I do appreciate he tries to bring in actual real-world data. Now the worst thing about this class: he CONSTANTLY posted lectures late. I’m talking 3 days late sometimes. If you like to do your lectures the day they are released this is going to really irritate you. I find it completely unprofessional. I don’t want to hear about how he is busy or has stuff going on. So do we. We don’t get to turn stuff in late. Ever. So I expect the same from those who enforce those mandates. The only saving grace was the fact the lectures were often short and as I said the material was very fair. This class is probably a total 7/10 but a UCLA 12/10 so I would absolutely take it again.

There are lot of new concepts and definitions. Not math based econ class. Not super memorial based. Could do some practice online and he provide sample exam. 2 assignments (20% for overall grades), and remaining for midterm and final. Professor is nice and clear.

Class is barely any work. it was not mandatory to attend but was not recorded, he just uploaded slides which you could review at home and still get and if u dont get then just go to OH. its a nice class with barely any work. u really only pay attention before psets (there were 2) and before midterm and final. the midterm was 54/70 mean and class is curved at end and final is yet to be received. the exams were pretty easy overall but u really have to study ALL the materials because like the questions are like nothing like class stuff but its very very similar in level and copy n paste (sometimes) to practice exam before exam and psets. def not a bad class to take with a harder class like 103 or 104. lu is nice guy and he really explains everything if u ask question.

An interesting class for an econ elective. Professor Lu gave fairly engaging lectures, and his midterms/finals were very similar to the practice tests he gives. He isn't really helpful when it comes to specific questions though, and never answered questions on the campuswire in any sort of detail, if at all. 2 problem sets, 1 midterm, 1 final. Pretty light work for an econ class as long as you keep up with the material.

Loving this class. Lectures were relatively shorter than the other econ classes and the material is pretty interesting and easy to follow. There are two problem sets and are easy to complete. The midterm is very easy as well and we have a average of 61 out of 65. The final is a bit challenging :< btw. Highly recommend.

The professor is alright, no complaints, BUT this class honestly really sucks. It's not interesting and I went in thinking we would learn more about the psychology behind economics but instead, it's just another math class. This goes for the whole Econ department as a whole, all ECON classes but history ones are all math--it sucks.

Definitely recommend this class as an econ elective! Interesting material that relates to real life (procrastination, gambling, saving for retirement, investing in stocks/bonds) and the math behind most of the material is not difficult. I would say that the one frustrating thing was that there weren't a lot of materials provided to practice for the exams. I ended up having to look on Course Hero to find more practice because the exams required much more analytical thinking and math than any of the examples covered in lecture. Definitely try to do well on the problem sets because they are a big part of your grade. I went to every lecture, but he doesn't elaborate a lot on his slides so I think you could get away with not going. It's helpful to take advantage of the class Piazza board too if you have any questions and want help from other students or the professor. Everyone did pretty well on the exams so I don't think there ended up being much of a curve.

Interesting and chill class. 1 midterm, 1 final, 2 problem sets. No discussion section. The professor is a nice guy and helpful. The content is interesting and relatively easy.

one of the more interesting classes in the department

This is a very interesting and engaging class. There was no textbook - everything was based off of lecture slides and there are 2 problem sets, 1 midterm, and 1 final.
Some people say that problem sets are not clear. If you just go to lecture and listen once then no, it won't be clear. But if you take notes, actually review the lesson and make sure you understand every aspect and how they connect it is extremely straight forward.
His midterm questions are exactly like the problem set. The only tricky part is the multiple choice, but if you really understand the material, the questions are completely fair and reasonable.

This class takes up very little time and is great!