3.9
Quality3.6
Difficulty100%
Would Retake104
Reviews100%
Would Retake
104
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
104 total ratings5
50
4
33
3
8
2
6
1
7
What Students Say
“Absolutely sensational”
ECON406 - 5.0 rating“Ragan is the best econ prof at McGill, and 319 has been my favorite econ class”
ECON319 - 5.0 ratingClass Info
Attendance Mandatory
25%
Textbook Required
100%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Improving
+0.42 avg changeRatings by Course
219
5.0
(1)319
5.0
(1)335
5.0
(1)352
5.0
(1)ECON209
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
335
5.0
ECO164
5.0
MACROD1
5.0
ECON001
5.0
295
4.0
Reviews (103)
No Comments
great teacher...makes economics alot of fun!
Smart, clear, funny, makes fools out of fools
He's got it together, can be hilarious, fair exams
He is a medium-quality teacher and a very poor researcher.
No Comments
Very good teacher but very busy, what does poor researcher mean anyways?
entertaining, hilarious. learned alot. good! unlike the rest of the econ dept...
great teacher!!! all thumps up!
amazing prof. very smart.
arrogant. hard exams.
Great teacher. Handles a class of 400 people so well!!
No Comments
Great prof. He makes the class interesting.
interesting class! material is overwhelming..but he tries hard to make it more bearable..
One of the best teachers I've had at McGill.
He's a ****ing idiot. I do not know how he got his tenure at McGill. No publication, nothing.
Puts class to bed QUICKLY. The perfect cure for insomniacs
Great professor. He insists upon intuitive understanding of the material. He is very very funny too. If your class is in the morning, he is perfect. Arrogant with idiots and imbecils, and those who think that they will understand all without thinking.
I'm not going to lie... this man is a bit crazy sometimes. A little too conservative, a little too arrogant. But he's one of the very best professors at McGill: his lectures are clear and easy to follow (and often funny,) and his arrogance is kinda sexy.
Good guy, shame lecture are giving is such a big class
He is absolutely amazing. You need to have a talent to teach a class of 400, and Ragan definitely has it. His classes are funny and he actually makes you like economics. How cool is that?? Yo prof, you rock! :)
Very funny, tries his best to explain to 600+ students.
What sexy?! You call that sexy? Get real... Whatever, he definitely knows his stuff and he's got a sense of humor. I like him and it's not easy to teach a class of 600+ students but he does it well.
great presence in class, hot, funny, knows his stuff... what more can you ask??
He is a good professor that knows his material and has the ability to keep a class of over 600 quiet and concentrated. The people that left mean comments are the ones that failed - his exam is 100% final. He'll entertain you, but he expects you to LEARN.
a very good teacher. but 100% final is a little crazy. if the class size is smaller then it will be perfect. btw, he put all class' audio record on the web, amazing.
the 100% final is insane....it was the most difficult exam I ever did at McGill...just memorize the book and you should be ok.
He is a good teacher, but the 100% final was a****. Still, he follows the book closely so just read it and u should be fine.
he is a good teacher but the exam is hard and long for the amount of time given..plus not allowed to have a calculator which sucks and makes it even longer
One of the best teachers I have every had. Very capable of explaining concepts clearly and is easy to follow. Very appraochable. Tough but fair marker. Is genuinely concerned about students.
Horrific eperience away from Bronf High
No Comments
You better brown nose this guy, otherwise you're in trouble. Yep, he's that type, thinks he's real hot****. His exams are hard, but you'll pass if you do exactly as he says.
Great teacher. He knows what he is talking about and his lecture are interesting. He does think he is the s*** so if you say something stupid, he will intelectually crush you. Can be helpfull outside of class. Great class although a lil disorganised right now. One of the best teachers at McGill, take a class with him if u can.
Awesome prof... makes economics interesting and crystal clear. Very fair and class is a joy to go to.
A very accomplished prof, and he knows it. He loves to talk about himself and is pretty conceited. Good stage presence in lectures though. ECON219 is basically just intro. theory, so if you have taken ECON208/209, 230D, etc. this course is of no use to you. Course was very disorganized.
This guy is the reason I did a minor in Economics! Truly, a fabulous professor...he had so much presence in that huge Leacock room. He really was one of the best profs I had at McGill.
Pros: great teacher very clear about what he wants works perfectly with the book since he wrote it hilarious Cons: none
Very good lecturer. Although i agree he does pass off as arrogant at times. More than makes up for it with humour. Discussion Questions are fairly long, but straightforward and easy for the most part. Very qualified prof and an asset to McGill(which is more than I can say about most).
Great teacher, MIT PhD, arrogant but hes a cool guy
I'm really NOT recommending this teacher, but then again he is the only one teaching ECON-295. All I can wish you is luck..a hell of a lot of luck.
Very entertaining and engaging professor. Encouraged class discussion and did not force new topics until old ones had been fully understood. Unlike most profs, class time went quickly.
makes it look easy, interesting but its actually quite tricky.
Ragan is funny and stimulates the class to participate in discussion and voice their opinions. I disagree with the 100% final. The lectures are recorded so students have no reason to go to class or open the book until the last week of the semester...
He was great. Very knowledgable, very funny.
It's very obvious he's knowledgeable in his field. He's a great lecturer and you'll learn tons for sure; but come exam time, you'd better study your butt off and pray that you do alright.
He does a really great job making material that could be so boring that you want to pull your eyes out interesting. I was one of few who did well in this class so take this advice. 1. Go to class. 2. Keep up with the readings. Otherwise you will screw yourself. It is VERY easy to get behind in this class.
Is probably a little arrogant but unless you're really sensitive to that kind of thing (or are a know-it-all in class) you probably wouldn't notice (I didn't). Class attendance not vital but you MUST do the readings before the final. Would recommend taking the optional mid-term.
Very helpful, answers his emails quite quickly. Had 400 students entertained for 3 hrs every week. Read your textbook: Macroeconomics, Eleventh Canadian Edition (Paperback) by Christopher T.S. Ragan (Author), Richard G. Lipsey (Author)
A very good professor if you are interested in Economics, but don't take ECON 219 if you want a beginner class... very very difficult and moves quickly. Average on the midterm was 52. Ragan is clear and helpful but that's if you already understand Econ.
Professor Ragan is an amazing professor. He is intelligent and an excellent public speaker. His tests are long, but you can do well if you study hard. He was my favorite professor this term! Yeah Ragan! I love you!
Probably a good management prof, but not cut out for the honours program. Midterm scores were so low that he didn't count them. Problem sets were time consuming and didn't help to understand the material. Spent most of class answering questions. Study the class notes, don't bother with the book.
Unbelievably hard marker. I got an A in both terms of honours micro, but only got a B+ with Ragan (class average was a wonderfully high B-). He knows his stuff, just doesn't put any effort into the class.
Ragan is extremely smart. One of the best profs I've ever had. Do not take this class first year or if you have no economics background unless you are prepared to work extremely hard for grades that you may be disappointed with.
ahh, I took ECON 219 in the first semester of my first year and almost died. The lectures are recorded, which kind helped, but it was hard to keep up with things since I had no Econ background. I didn't know you can choose not to do the midterm, it probably would have been a good idea to not do it (you get to choose) b/c the class avg was around 56
Good prof and a very hard prof, it is a very hard A- but fairly easy B or B+ alot of my friends got B+. forget about the book and study whatever he says... study ALL sidenotes he gives and expect very tricky english in the exam. he will explain why that is hehe... extremely arrogant and confident but he has everything to back up his attittude
He's the worst professor in Canada. period. Doesn't do any work because he's too lazy. Let's the students do everything while he gives useless lame comments. He's also very arrogant and just plain stupid. He acts like he's some movie star but he's just a dorky nerd. Not recommended. at all.
Forces you to do manual calculations b/c doesn't allow calculators = waste of time. His teaching style didn't work for me-- found him arrogant and irritating, wish he'd just teach us what we need for his impossible final. Fortunately there are web quizzes which help bring grades up and lots of bell curving. Study my econ lab lots.
Nice, tough professor. Tough exam,know your stuff. Lots of material. He wrote the textbook and it is the best textbook I have ever used. Since he wrote it, class is consistent with the text.I stopped going to class because it was the exact same as the amazing book. Buy and use the exercise book also, very helpful and some questions similar to
Harsh, pays a lot of attention to wording!
Prof. Ragan is probably the best professor in the department. Very clear, funny, entertaining, knowledgeable, helpful. Material is not hard, but exams are tricky and require more than just memorizing. He does make fun of some people, which may explains some negative reviews, but he makes sure to never hurt anyone. Look for courses he teaches.
I'll give props to Ragan that he is pretty entertaining in that he is a very good and eloquent speaker. But the way he structures the class is bad. 3 quizzes that you have to do at a "set day" and only have an hour equals stress. The final was long and tricky so have to know your stuff. Textbook and class it the same, he repeats himself tenfold.
Fantastic prof. Straightforward, helpful, and entertaining. An excellent speaker who clearly enjoys teaching - tells fun stories, but always keeps on track. Class is consistent with the textbook. Provides multiple ways you can learn the material - class, textbook, myeconlab, conferences, etc. - without being redundant. Highly recommended.
His lectures are entertaining and fun. He makes the material very clear and basically goes over everything in the lectures. As of exams, my advice is PRACTICE MULTIPLE CHOICE questions in the study guide. MyEconLab is not crucial. This is a good intro to econ course.
BEST PROF AT MCGILL.One man show.u feel like ur in comedy central stand up comedy show. knows what he is talking avout. He wrote the book u use, so his lecture is a repetition of the book. But still go to his lectures, if not you'll be missing big time. at the end of the last class we had a standing ovation. shows how good his course was
Great prof in all respects. Intelligent, well-spoken, and a commanding lecturer. Unfortunately he is currently on sabbatical. That being said, take one of his classes when he gets back. If you know nothing about economics it's still worth to take the class as long as you are willing to work a little. If you do know something, so much the better.
A really funny prof. He wrote the textbook and if you use it an MyEconlab, you'll get a A for sure. I took his class a while ago, he was a bit arrogant but he's got the brains to be which makes him hot. Knows it though. Take his class for sure.
Ragan is a fantastic professor--certainly the best I have had in the ECON department. His only fault is writing lengthy exams.
I can say that after attending this class I have become 5x times smarter and understand macroeconomics with clarity. Its simple - he is the best and brightest in Canada. Take him. Lectures are always interesting and McGill is lucky to have him - TAKE ADVANTAGE!!
Chris is an extremely cool character. He teaches the material in a fantastic way and communicates well within lectures. The course would normally be considered a tough topic to study, but Chris actually makes it fairly easy. As an ECON student I found the easiness five star, but if you're an elective student you'll be looking at a four star rating.
Ragan is an awesome professor! He is very knowledgable and passionate about what he teaches. His exams questions are fairly easy, but really long. If you read the textbook, make notes, and go to class, you will understand and do well. Be careful about raising your hand in class. Unless you can defend your arguments, he will shut you down.
I found Prof. Ragan to be very nice, very clear, and very helpful. But his midterm exam was so unfairly graded that, on the basis of his grading alone, I couldn't possibly recommend that anybody take his class. It's too much of a headache. I don't care how nice he is if he can fail the entire class without batting an eyelash.
he is an economics genius and highly decorated. but for a 200 level econ class (this is my second year here), he is a ridiculously hard marker. took this class to boost my econ gpa and its doing the opposite. cant believe my midterm was so bad
Absolutely brilliant. I only made an account on this site to say how smart and educational a prof ragan is. I loved attending his classes. If u have any interest in economics, you should too. Though terribly hard marker. This is not a GPA booter
A highly coherent and engaging speaker. Lectures are a pleasure to attend though the grading in the course can border on the pedantic.
Ragan is an excellent speaker and the class material is applicable and pretty interesting. However, the marking in the course is quite difficult and the exams are extremely long. How to do well: 1)Take 208 first! 2) Approach this course as a difficult one and take the time to read ALL the readings and to do the practice exams.
Best professor at McGill, but only if you actually like economics. Marks very, very hard and exams are long, but if you put in the effort and study hard its a great course. I highly recommend taking it, though it is easier if you take econ 208 and 209 before.
very arrogant. his jokes are not interesting at all
Excellent and entertaining lecturer but unfair/shady grading methods. Take pass/fail if you can to relax and enjoy his course... or just learn how to write really fast.
He is a fantastic lecturer, really keeps his student engaged. The final marks were ridiculous though! Make sure you are able to understand everything and take GOOD notes when the guest lecturers come
This man is very intelligent, a phenomenal lecturer and I learnt more in his class than any other class I've ever taken at McGill. That being said, he will happily fail the entire class without thinking twice. I can't recommend his class on that basis alone. TL;DR Made class interesting, marks exams unnecessarily harsh
Best prof i've had so far. Charismatic, smart, entertaining, engaging, and rightfully opinionated. Hard grader, but it's worth the knowledge in the end. Makes you think analytically instead of just memorizing concepts.
Smart guy, pretty good lecturer and cracks some jokes in class, which can be funny at times but can also get really old. I showed up to class for bonus marks but it was unbelievably boring. I think the material is useful but I couldn't imagine doing it again.
Good lecturer but does not communicate the material effectively. Gets caught up in his own stories/jokes. Marking is VERY HARD. Make sure you know what you are doing in this class or he WILL fail you.
Excellent teacher, though very harsh grader! It is a pleasure to listen to him and you WILL learn a lot of things from his lectures, things you didn't think about before! Highly recommend unless your only goal is to get a perfect GPA...
Prof. Ragan is an enthusiastic and passionate lecturer who explains basic economic concepts very well. If you have a background in economics this class isn't too hard, but Prof. Ragan does grade quite harshly.
Amazing prof. Not only does he really understand what hes talking about, but he teaches it well.
Amazing lecturer,is great at what he does.
Absolutely amazing professor, have never been this interested. Extremely clear and incredibly intelligent in everything he says. Do not skip class it is completely worth it!
Best professor at McGill. Knows the material extremely well. Tough marker but what you learn from him will help you in all classes. Highly recommend!
Best professor I have had at McGill! Wish I was in Econ and could take more of his classes. He is hilarious, keeps every lecture interesting, and although a tough grader is extremely approachable. TAKE his class!
Interesting teacher who teaches the material pretty well. He could care less about his students which is often apparent (the 600 person class size has something to do with it). Lectures are recorded but if you show up to class and do the practice in the study guide and quizzes, you will do very well on the final exam. Overall a good teacher
Phenomenal lecturer, very charismatic and impressive man. He is a hard grader but the material is not rocket science either. A real point of pride for the department of economics at McGill. Take his classes as many times as you can.
Very good profesor. Best prof i had
Best prof i've had at mcgill honestly
Best prof at McGill. Genuinely a nice guy and somehow seriously hot. Take his class if you have the chance he's really interesting!
Ragan is the best econ prof at McGill, and 319 has been my favorite econ class. The peer grading system was a bit annoying, but this class is definitely worth it! You have to do the readings, but the books are good anyway :D Highly recommend this class!
Don't go to class it's completely useless. Read the book and do practice finals. You'll do great. The class is not hard but don't expect to learn anything from the prof.
THE best from at McGill in the economics department !!! Missed the first two months of class because i was lazy and i regret it entirely because he is that interesting. He's an inspirational teacher, really knows his material (worked closely with the bank of Canada) and explains it in the easiest of terms. I could not recommend him higher.
Absolutely sensational.
Great lecturer. Interesting material. And such a solid grasp of macroeconomics, he'll make it very clear. Peer and homework grading is frustrating, but worth it to take a class with him. Take Ragan as many times as you can.
Truly awesome professor. Very knowledgeable about economic crises, having worked with the Department of Finance around the time of the global financial crisis. Ragan literally wrote the book on macroeconomics. You must read all materials, both the required and optional readings. Don't miss this class, if you can get on the list.
Class Info
Attendance Mandatory
25%
Textbook Required
100%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Improving
+0.42 avg changeRatings by Course
219
5.0
(1)319
5.0
(1)335
5.0
(1)352
5.0
(1)ECON209
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
335
5.0
ECO164
5.0
MACROD1
5.0
ECON001
5.0
295
4.0