Great professor! As long as you study the practice tests and homework, you're golden!

Farmer is a legend. This class is totally fair and very easy to get an A in if you just do your work. I got an A+ with minimal studying for the final and failing the midterm.

Farmer actually understands the modern economic environment much better than most professors here, and he is able to very clearly explain the major debates among academic economists today.

The lectures focus a lot on the underlying nuances of economic theory which is incredibly interesting, but the tests and problem sets are (predictably) just math. If you are good at calc the class will be a breeze.

I enjoyed this class and Professor Farmer because he related the material to the current economic situation. The lectures are all based on power points that he uploads to the class website. It seems that he also always has his lectures on bruincast for those that don't like to go to class. Attendance for the TA sections count for 10% of the class but they are really helpful for the weekly homework assignments. There are two midterms and a final for the class. He was pretty generous with the grading because you will automatically get the higher or one midterm at 40% and the final for 50% or the final can count for 90%. His tests are about half concepts from the readings and half is econ. math(maximizing with lagrangians and etc.). There isn't going to be anything that is "tricky" or anything on the tests, they are generally straight forward and follow the assignments very closely. I think Farmer only teaches once a year and only in the Fall but if you're trying to plan ahead, I would recommend him because you will learn a lot and he is generous with the grades.

Professor Farmer's class was really fair.

Class consisted of 2 grading scales:
1. 10% attendance(TA session) + hw, 40% midterm, 50% final
2. 10% attendance(TA session) + hw, 90% final

- grading on homework was very generous as it was only done in pass/no pass basis
- midterm and final were easy if you actually paid attention on lectures and did your hw as the questions are straight out from them.
- Professor Farmer talks about several important economists and it is necessary for you to remember what they did and when they were born for midterm and final
- Professor Farmer uploads lecture slides few days prior to the class. I'd recommend reading them prior to the class as Professor Farmer talks a bit fast, which will make you most likely unable to take notes while paying attention to what he is speaking.

Just saw the previous post and thought I should add my thoughts. He is tough and hard and boring, but I stuck it out and got a C.

I had him a while ago for econ 102. I posted an evaluation but for some reason it disappeared, so here it is again. I can't think of a worse prof in my entire education. Hard to sit through classes and a hard grader. Not at all easy to approach or communicate with, he would never even return my emails. what a jerk. AVOID AVOID AVOID!

Hardest teacher I have ever had. He is an extremely hard grader. I took him even though he had some mixed reviews, but I really wish I hadn't. He seems to have his head in the clouds or somewhere else most of the time. This will go down as the lowest grade and worst experience of my UCLA career.

Hard to add to what most of the other students have already said. Professor Farmer cares deeply about student learning and gladly fields questions related to lecture and also related to economics, grad school, etc. If you're having difficulty in the class, he provides excellent assistance alongside the TA's. The great thing about the class is that the theory becomes clear and in your face as if you were an academic studying theoretical and applied economics. It's different to see where the theories come from and what they represent in interpreting real life phenomena. Great professor, great class.

Farmer is the best economics prof I have had at UCLA thus far. I went into the class, thinking I was going to despise it, but actually ended up enjoying it. As the previous 2 comments stated, he did a great job of relating the current economic crisis to the class - something I've never had a econ professor do prior to this class. He also seemed to actually care that we understood what he was teaching us. Also, the man is seriously brilliant. So although you don't need to go to class, or even really listen to the lectures online because his tests come straight from the weekly assignments, you can really learn a ton from him (and listening to the lectures makes the weekly assignments easier to understand.) Take Farmer if you can.

This economics class was very special in a way that I got to learn about economic analysis of CURRENT crisis and causes of it. I'm glad that I took his class because it really expanded my view on macroeconomics. Professor Farmer has very organized structure for the class. Although his lectures are often very hard to comprehend, he uploads his lecture slides with his own writings during lecture AND his lectures are bruincasted. So there's really no excuse for blaming him for not understanding materials. He gave out 2 midterms during the quarter (40% for one of them)and and 1 final(50%). One of the midterms can be dropped(Actually one of them has to be dropped) and even if you did bad on both midterms, you can do well on the final and just take the final grade as 90% of your whole grade (left over 10% is discussion attendance). He also assigns weekly assignments which are VERY similar to what you will see on tests. One of the things that I overlooked in this class was reading assignments. You better read everything he assigns (except the textbook although it can help you understand lectures) and try to come up with your OWN answers for questions on his weekly assignments. TAs were very helpful and willing to aid students through the discussion board and via posting all answers to assignments online.