ECON 4370

Really interesting subject material. Don't go to class. Burton is easily the worst lecturer I have had during college. His tests are graded poorly - the TAs arbitrarily took off points without explanation.

This is a strange class, the information is probably the most pertinent you'll get in the Econ department in terms of useful knowledge, but Burton really comes across as a prick. That being said, he makes a really honest attempt at being accesible to student via taking them out to lunch, etc., but his manner of lecturing is pretty poor. Getting an A in this class doesn't require much more than having enough friends to have someone at lecture or understand what everyone author said in their respective paper/idea.

You can't go wrong with a class taught by Burton.

Really arbitrary grading.

Take it. Nearly identical tests every year so just get old copies

Burton loves the topic and aims to make it interesting for everyone. Very open and available, and basically just wants you to summarize his lectures on the tests. They are writing intensive so bring extra pencils. But just go to class and pay attention to the key points he makes and you'll be fine.

Burton's lectures can be off topic but do the readings and you should get an A.

I'd recommend taking it, but don't write it off either. You'll learn a lot of useful, real world value information and Burton is a cool guy.

Some risk though...on an exam (almost entirely short answer), you could spend the same amount of time studying as somebody else and end up with a grade 10-20 points higher or lower because of how it's graded. The TA's look for one key phrase or word...even if you get the question right, if you don't have that phrase/word you don't get any credit (not even partial most of the time). Can be very frustrating or rewarding, depending on how the coin flips. Even so, if you study enough and do the readings it'll be pretty tough not to end up with at least a B.

Other than the exams, it's an interesting class. It's more psychology oriented than finance. Go to lunch with Burton at least once, he keeps track and is a very fascinating guy.

This was a really useful class on finance theory and behavior in market.

Pretty good class. Burton's lectures don't make much sense, but the readings are interesting. The course is very relevant as far as behavioral finance goes, but the grading sucks. The TAs suck and don't give you the points you deserve.