Fall 2026

Economic Problems of Developing Areas

ECONOMIC PROBLEMS OF DEVELOPING AREAS analyzes aggregate growth, income distribution and poverty in lower income economies.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Fall 2026 Eleanor Wiseman

Summary

1 / 6

Historical reviews of Laura Schechter: The course requires consistent effort to succeed, with attendance encouraged for extra credit via lecture questions. Workload is manageable for those who engage, though the class is not considered easy.

Grade history

↗
average GPA
letter grades
A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

A A E 101(215 prior to Fall 2024),ECON 101, or 111

AAE/ECON 474

This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree

Professors

Fall 2026
Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Historical reviews for Laura Schechter and Jennifer Alix-Garcia describe engaging content and clear expectations. Alix-Garcia's classes were praised as easy with no exams, though one cited heavy reading and inconsistent grading. Another historical instructor drew mixed feedback, with one student finding him sincere and funny, while others criticized his monotone delivery and heavy workload.

JENNIFER ALIX-GARCIA is recorded teaching in Spring 2010, Spring 2011, Spring 2012, Spring 2014, Spring 2015, Spring 2017. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

LAURA ANNE SCHECHTER is recorded teaching in Fall 2008, Spring 2013, Spring 2016, Spring 2025, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

PAUL DOWER is recorded teaching in Spring 2018, Spring 2019, Spring 2020, Spring 2022, Spring 2023. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Fall 2026

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 001Classroom Instruction36 / 1200
LEC 001Classroom Instruction54 / 1040

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.

Meeting source records
Download part 1

Student experience

the class

Historical reviews of Laura Schechter: Laura Schechter provides clear grading expectations and fair assessments, making the course doable with effort. Students appreciate the structured setup and extra credit opportunities based on lecture participation.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.50 GPA, 77.5% A/AB (n=40 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.41 GPA, 67.3% A/AB (n=101 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.36 GPA, 69.8% A/AB (n=53 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Historical reviews of Laura Schechter: The course requires consistent effort to succeed, with attendance encouraged for extra credit via lecture questions. Workload is manageable for those who engage, though the class is not considered easy.

Historical reviews of Laura Schechter: Students find the professor clear and fair, though not overly warm. The course structure is well-organized, allowing students to understand expectations and succeed through dedicated effort.

Topics

  • Income distribution and poverty
  • Imperfect markets
  • Economic policy

Skills

  • Analysis of aggregate growth and poverty
  • Application of microeconomic theory to development
  • Policy implication analysis

Grades

Latest available · Spring 2026— not enough history to project Fall 2026.

average GPA
A / AB grades
letter grades
Instructor

Grade distribution · % of letter grades

A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

Grades over time

Through Spring 2026

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Where this course fits relative to

Latest available grades · Spring 2026 · all course levels

GPA

Higher than % of other courses in this group.

Course GPAs · red marks this course’s range

letter grades

More recorded grades than % of other courses in this group.

Typical course in this group: letter grades.

About this comparison

1283 courses over the same term, each with at least 30 recorded letter grades. Cross-listed courses count once. GPA is not a measure of difficulty or teaching quality. The typical course is the median by recorded grade count; tied values are not counted as lower. Grade counts describe course scale, not unique students or typical section size.

Descriptions compare GPA with this group’s average: at least 0.20 higher or lower; otherwise close to average. Section size uses median recorded enrollment: small up to 30, mid-sized 31–99, large 100+. Lectures and discussion/lab sections are described separately.

Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.

Catalog observation history

Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.

Download part 1
Selected offering source records
AAE/ECON 474 · Fall 2026

Economic Problems of Developing Areas

Recorded 2026-09-07
AAE/ECON 474 · Fall 2026

Economic Problems of Developing Areas

Recorded 2026-09-07
Raw records
[
  {
    "run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
    "semester": "1272",
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1272:108:000364",
    "course_id": "AAE/ECON 474",
    "course_uid": "course_955535bf63b310ab27c52534",
    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "000364",
    "source_subject_id": "108",
    "title": "Economic Problems of Developing Areas",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Spring"
  },
  {
    "run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
    "semester": "1272",
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1272:296:000364",
    "course_id": "AAE/ECON 474",
    "course_uid": "course_955535bf63b310ab27c52534",
    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "000364",
    "source_subject_id": "296",
    "title": "Economic Problems of Developing Areas",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Spring"
  }
]
Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews
Download part 1
Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-09-07

Download the original dataset
Model outputs & technical records
nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Download part 1
Model & dataset provenance
{
  "model": "nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4",
  "model_revision": "1355db6a052410cfd62085d94b58866fd0f2c3c5",
  "task_version": "14",
  "output_id": "be343dd2ffa0cc75af7fe5dcc8d0b881fa90f309b20e0a8a706165836f840f49",
  "requirements_status": "needs_review",
  "dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}