Current instructor
Original student reviews · all captured dates
This course is set up well. She is very clear on grading expectations, and they were very fair. Attendance isn't mandatory, but there are EC opportunities based off of questions asked in lecture. She isn't super warm and fuzzy but she is a great professor. This class isn't a walk in the park, but if you put in effort, it's definitely doable.Rate My Professors ↗
Prof. Schechter is unconfident in front of a class room. I assume she knows the concepts, but she seems to question herself with every other sentence. It is not clear what is important to remember and what is not. Grading frequently felt arbitrary, especially on homework assignments and the exams.Rate My Professors ↗
Professor Schechter is one of the best professors at UW-Madison. She is very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about development economics and wants you to learn lot about the field. I strongly suggest you take this course if you want to get a general insight into international development and how it works.Rate My Professors ↗
I would choose another professor teaching the class if i could go back. Very confusing at times, and lacks the confidence of an experienced professor at UW-Madison. Lectures are confusing. A lot of students would restate and clarify some of her answers in class.Rate My Professors ↗
One of my favorite all-time professors. Extremely kind and genuinely humble. She keeps it real.Rate My Professors ↗
Everything you need to know for a problem set or exam is either in lecture or a specific reading. Very nice- she makes an effort to learn everyone's names. I was very interested in the subject and the class did a great job of covering a wide variety of issues (mincrofinance, poverty, health, etc.).Rate My Professors ↗
Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.
ECON 899 covers selections from all fields of economic research.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Recent recorded grades — Spring 2026: 3.71 GPA, 85.7% A/AB (n=7 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026| Term | Course | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Fall 2026 | ECON 899 | Recent Advances in Economics |
Teaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.
{
"instructor_uid": "instructor_eec6d55bdbd333b24f342d28",
"source": "enrollment",
"source_instructor_id": "lschechter",
"identity_basis": "netid",
"identity_status": "source_identified",
"name": "Laura Schechter",
"email": "LSCHECHTER@WISC.EDU",
"first_observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
"last_observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
"ratings": {
"review_count": 11,
"quality": 3.64,
"difficulty": 3.27,
"quality_count": 11,
"difficulty_count": 11,
"profile_id": "rmp:1089239",
"source_url": "https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/1089239",
"match_basis": "exact_name",
"observed_at": "2026-09-07 16:24:17.185308+00:00",
"courses": {
"course_955535bf63b310ab27c52534": {
"review_count": 7,
"quality": 3.57,
"difficulty": 3.14,
"quality_count": 7,
"difficulty_count": 7
},
"course_c0b1911e2031b4a470e6f4f7": {
"review_count": 1,
"quality": 5,
"difficulty": 4,
"quality_count": 1,
"difficulty_count": 1
},
"course_da2dd94b893ac9e89828dbf2": {
"review_count": 3,
"quality": 3.33,
"difficulty": 3.33,
"quality_count": 3,
"difficulty_count": 3
}
},
"bayesian_quality": 3.6527005055139323,
"prior_mean": 3.6596857835465957,
"prior_weight": 20
},
"current": true,
"courses": [
{
"course_uid": "course_dd021203873e6ff009f09a4e",
"course_id": "ECON 899",
"title": "RECENT ADVANCES IN ECONOMICS",
"credits_min": 1,
"credits_max": 3,
"gpa": 3.876
}
],
"revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
"instructor_url": "/instructors/LAURA_SCHECHTER"
}