Fall 2026

The Financial System

Examines banking, credit markets, financial institutions, and monetary and debt management policies within the international system.

offering recorded3 credits

Recorded instructors · Fall 2026 Menzie Chinn3.0/5

Summary

1 / 6

The course is difficult, with homework that is essential for exam success. Workload varies, with some noting minimal homework but a demanding 10-page term paper.

Grade history

↗

average GPA
letter grades

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

(ECON 301 or ECON 311) and (ECON 302 or ECON 312) and ECON 330

- - ECON 301
  - ECON 311
  take one
- - ECON 302
  - ECON 312
  take one
- ECON 330
take all

ECON 435

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

Prerequisite text tree

All of
- Any of
  - ECON 301
  - ECON 311
- Any of
  - ECON 302
  - ECON 312
- ECON 330

Professors

Fall 2026

Menzie Chinn

/5Adjusted rating

/5RMP difficulty

captured reviews

About this rating

Raw average: 2.64/5 from 36 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

For this course: 4.4/5 raw quality · 3.6/5 difficulty · 5 reviews

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

Menzie Chinn is described as a knowledgeable lecturer who integrates current events and responds to emails quickly. Reviewers note that while the course is advanced and difficult, his explanations are clear and he is fair if students complete the work.

One reviewer found the final 10-page term paper to be a significant challenge, though they still considered the experience of taking the class with a famous economist to be great.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2019: 3.29 GPA, 51.4% A/AB (n=35 letter grades); Fall 2021: 3.42 GPA, 54.2% A/AB (n=24 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.47 GPA, 62.5% A/AB (n=16 letter grades).

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

MENZIE CHINN is recorded teaching in Fall 2012, Spring 2013, Spring 2014, Fall 2014, Fall 2015, Fall 2016, Fall 2017, Fall 2018, Fall 2019, Fall 2021, Fall 2025. 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.

Section	Mode	Enrolled / capacity	Waitlist
LEC 001	Classroom Instruction	30 / 45	0

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

Meeting source records

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Student experience

the class

Menzie Chinn is a highly regarded professor who delivers advanced, interesting lectures on financial markets. Reviewers describe the course as challenging but fair, noting that it prepares students well for careers in economics and banking.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2019: 3.29 GPA, 51.4% A/AB (n=35 letter grades); Fall 2021: 3.42 GPA, 54.2% A/AB (n=24 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.47 GPA, 62.5% A/AB (n=16 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

The course is difficult, with homework that is essential for exam success. Workload varies, with some noting minimal homework but a demanding 10-page term paper.

Students appreciate Chinn's fast email responses and ability to integrate current events. Success requires active engagement, as students must follow along and occasionally conduct independent research.

Topics

Banking and financial institutions
Monetary and debt management
International monetary system

Grades

Latest available · Fall 2025— not enough history to project Fall 2026.

Grade distribution · % of letter grades

Grades over time

Through Fall 2025

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Not enough comparable courses for Fall 2026 in UW–Madison.

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.

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Selected offering source records

ECON 435 · Fall 2026

The Financial System

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": "1272:296:005616",
    "course_id": "ECON 435",
    "course_uid": "course_156f8e7bbfa0994c04564cf8",
    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "005616",
    "source_subject_id": "296",
    "title": "The Financial System",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Occasionally"
  }
]

Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

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Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

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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": "2a030949fab2ce7cad669682bffd4830e055691d63b067f5f1817e8c06d292ab",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}