Fall 2026

Game Theory and Economic Analysis

ECON 521 teaches game theory and economic analysis, focusing on multi-agent decision problems involving coordination, cooperation, and conflict.

offering recorded3–4 credits
Recorded instructors · Fall 2026 Benjamin Bernard4.0/5Eduard Airapetian

Summary

1 / 7

The course features difficult homework and confusing problem sets that are harder than the exams. Lectures are fast and complex, requiring significant effort to grasp the material.

Grade history

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average GPA
letter grades
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AB
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All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

(ECON 301 or 311) and MATH 222; or graduate/professional standing

ECON 521

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

Prerequisite text tree

Professors

Fall 2026

Benjamin Bernard

/5Adjusted rating
/5RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.67/5 from 12 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: 4.5/5 raw quality · 4.0/5 difficulty · 4 reviews

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

Benjamin Bernard delivers complex, fast-paced lectures that develop problem-solving skills, though attendance is necessary for success. He provides excellent office hours with detailed strategies and genuinely wants to help students who make the effort.

Some students find his lectures and problem sets extremely confusing and hand-wavy, making it difficult to identify errors. However, the course curve is described as extremely generous, allowing students to achieve high grades with minimal understanding.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2023: 3.36 GPA, 67.4% A/AB (n=43 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.40 GPA, 66.0% A/AB (n=50 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.27 GPA, 60.7% A/AB (n=61 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Benjamin Bernard is the current instructor, but reviews for historical faculty highlight varied experiences. Raymond Deneckere and Marzena Rostek are praised for clarity and approachability, while Antonio Penta and David Hansen are noted for dense notation and difficult exams.

ANTONIO PENTA is recorded teaching in Fall 2014, Fall 2015. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

BENJAMIN BERNARD is recorded teaching in Fall 2022, Fall 2023, Fall 2024, Fall 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

DAVID HANSEN is recorded teaching in Fall 2013, Spring 2014, Spring 2015, Fall 2016, Spring 2017, Spring 2018, Spring 2019, Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Spring 2024. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

MARZENA ROSTEK is recorded teaching in Spring 2007, Spring 2009, Fall 2009, Spring 2010, Spring 2011, Spring 2012, Spring 2013, Spring 2016. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

RAYMOND DENECKERE is recorded teaching in Fall 2006, Fall 2007, Fall 2008, Fall 2009. 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
DIS 302Classroom Instruction19 / 240
DIS 303Classroom Instruction23 / 240
LEC 001Classroom Instruction64 / 720
DIS 304Classroom Instruction22 / 240

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

Benjamin Bernard teaches a difficult but interesting course that develops problem-solving skills. Reviewers recommend the class, noting that attendance is necessary for success despite complex lectures.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2024: 3.22 GPA, 55.2% A/AB (n=29 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.40 GPA, 66.0% A/AB (n=50 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.27 GPA, 60.7% A/AB (n=61 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

The course features difficult homework and confusing problem sets that are harder than the exams. Lectures are fast and complex, requiring significant effort to grasp the material.

Bernard provides excellent office hours with detailed strategies, though some find the provided solutions hand-wavy. The grading curve is generous, potentially allowing high grades with minimal understanding.

Topics

  • International relations, firm competition, union bargaining, political contests

Skills

  • Analysis of multi-agent interactive decision problems
  • Application of game theory to economic and political contexts

Grades

Historical instructor

Fall 2026 · Projected

Before grades are released

– average GPA

Approximate 80% prediction interval

About this estimate

The course’s semester-average GPA, not an individual student’s grade. The center uses 4 same-season terms, weighted toward recent results.

The range uses the finite-sample 80th-percentile rank of absolute errors from earlier same-season forecasts. Each forecast uses only records from earlier terms. At least four forecasts are required; bounds are rounded outward and limited to 0–4. This is an empirical estimate: changing instructors or grading policies can reduce its coverage.

8 earlier forecasts · 0.24 GPA average error.

Grades over time

Through Fall 2026

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Where this course fits relative to

Latest available grades · Fall 2025 · 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

1320 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.

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Selected offering source records
ECON 521 · Fall 2026

Game Theory and Economic Analysis

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": "1272:296:005661",
    "course_id": "ECON 521",
    "course_uid": "course_bbffbd8eaca63432913620af",
    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "005661",
    "source_subject_id": "296",
    "title": "Game Theory and Economic Analysis",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 4,
    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring"
  }
]
Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews
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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": "dc2f4f60fe738d0b42e900f8ddbbc17b3c8a7fc467d019dc12c19092eb278846",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}