The best (perhaps the only one) ECON teacher at UBC.

No Comments

very helpful

Young professor. Big on the theory. I didn't get a great mark in this course but it is definitely not a hard course. You can definitely get an A if you try.

Great prof. Willing to help students and shows respect to students.

His midterm was pretty much the same as the past ones except he added one an extra harder question on it! I think the course is not hard if you really pay attention to what he is teaching in class. Don't buy the textbook, it useless just read his notes!!

Very good prof. Lectures clearly and explains graphs and equations well

Very very nice person. But his exams depend heavily on lecture notes(he adds many things than textbook does not include), and he excludes many things the textbook does have.So you really NEED his lecutre notes. I did not use the textbook to study, only used his notes. Exams are not hard if you do all his practice exams.

MT was hard, but the final just okay if you pay attention in class and do all the past final. Very helpful when you ask for help. the course itself was not that easy so it requires some work in order to get good grade

His notes were clear,tells you step by step how to get certain models or concepts. sometimes I found that unnecessary, but otherwise his notes were awesome. The textbook was helpful..but I think I wasted my money on it.

VERY VERY nice prof!He gave us additional office hour on Sat and Sunday when we were having exam!Very helpful in and outside class.Notes very clear.Midterms were tough,but final was okay.Very helpful.I learned a lot from him!!

Nicest and most helpful prof, he held more than 5 office hours before the final. His midterm averages were really low though, mostly cuz they were too long. He's eye candy too.

Expect 4-5 pages of notes per day, difficult homework and midterms where the averages are ~50(Last year at 56 then 52). Really nice guy who will help you if you need it, but you have to work hard for a good grade, as he does almost no examples in class. Good Prof.

Hard exams. Tons of class notes. Very helpful. Very clear in class (English as a first language).

Expect to write 4-5 pages per day, hard midterms and assingments that are VERY ESSENTIAL to the learning process of this course, if you work hard and are able to solve the hw you'll realize that it was EASY.

Tough MT and HW. Be prepared to do all the HW. Final is OK, if you know how to do all the assignments. HW marks were easy to get(10% of the term grade).

the MT was fine, the Final exam was quite brutal, but you WILL DEFINITELY learn from his class, do the problem sets, the Varian text is worthless, your lecture notes are essential in this class, he was just amazingly helpful, one of the best profs i've had, and it was a pleasure to have been one of his students

tough. good luck

Good prof, not an easy class though. Attendance is mandatory simply because he doesnt put up his notes and you need to be present to copy them down. The class can be kinda monotonous. Exams/midterms are hard-ish.

excellent prof. kind of cute too. lectures were interesting. exams were easy if you did the assignments. must go to class for notes (1 class = 6 pages of notes).

lectures were extremely boring and sometimes incomprehensible, even though he had straight from the textbook notes..it's your traditional econ class with lots of math and graphs, etc. i understood the class when i reread the notes...he's extremely helpful outside the class, even arranged a special econ review session for us non econ majors..

super nice prof who is patient and respects everyone. Midterm and final were easy if you understand his notes. Definitely the best prof in UBC. Take his class and you will not regret it.

Very Clear lecture. If you do attend all the lectures you wont need to read the textbooks to get a good grade. The textbooks is useless if you read all the notes, which is posted online(Usually only a few hours before the lecture), and attend the lecture. Strongly reconmand his class.

An excellent professor, very hard final. You may understand everything but get a really bad mark. Lecture are not very useful for the assignment and exams. Class average was around 65

notes are setup for monkeys.Show up, copy the overhead.He needs better preliminary information so that you know what is going on before the lecture.Exams are fairly hard, doing the previous exams and problem sets helps. SLOW MARKER.Didn't give us our homework or project grades before or even after the final.Lectures are clear. Often late for class.

Good prof. Very interesting materials. The final wasn't hard,but the class average was pretty low. Midterm was much harder than the final exam.

For econ 303, going to class is mandatory because the textbook is completely useless. everything you need is in his notes. midterm (35%) was very easy. final (45%) was a challenge, mostly because there's like 5 really different topics after the midterm. good prof cuz he posts tons of old exams that are helpful. office hours are scary.

He is a very nice prof. Notes are clear and helpful, don't even buy the textbook. Do the assigned HW and practice exams, they are really useful. Highly recommanded!

Great teacher, easy to understand lectures, really approachable during office hours. Spent longer helping us than he said he could.

Professor Vaney looks like Adam Sandler. Why couldn't i think of that sooner??! He's a really good with his teaching and i had a lot of fun in his class! Study the notes in excrutiating detail and you should do well in his class.

Love him :p

One of the nicest prof i have come across in my years in UBC. But dang is he hard! If you want to get some real learning experience then take a course with him ..doesn't have to be 465

Go to class for models that won't be in the handouts and try not to be distracted by his smile when he uses it :P

easy lectures as you only need to copy notes(but he writes very fast on the projector so you have to catch up with the pace). The class notes is very useful, I guess they act as a hurdle for students who don't attend class. Exams are mostly based on the notes! but you have to study the notes very carefully!

Vaney is not a good teacher for some students, in econ 303. The major reason is he doesn't have online notes, and he doesn't use text. Unless your extermely intentive your f***ed. He gives past finals/midterms/quizzes. Completely quantative teacher, but uses very simple math (linear functions, Sample size 2).

Love him! himself with his TA is lovely team! comprehensible and helpful.

He's great! Highly recommend him. If you show up, pay attention and take notes then you will pass. A little slow at marking.

He is really nice and the exams is fair, but not easy. Take him if u really want to learn the stuff,but definitely not a GPA booster course

He knows his stuff, and he's pretty witty. The course material is interesting and I think it'll be useful. Be forewarned, his exams aren't easy. Class is mandatory, because he doesn't post his lecture notes online. Our class did really well on the midterms so he made the final really hard. Definitely not a GPA booster.

Took 303&365 w/him 09spring&summer. Very good at teaching, but at times make you sleep as talking too much (especially in the summer). 303 is much harder because of the standard materials it must have accordingly. NOT a GPA booster but learning a lot for sure. get HW back from econ office. Will take hime again for more on markets and organizations.

Contrary to criticism, his notes are NOT disorganized and the exam materials are NOT far beyond the scope of lecture notes. You need to understand and be flexible with your knowledge instead of just reiterating what is being said in the lectures.

His notes are very clear. He knows his stuff really well and use a lot of math to help gain intuition. Enjoyable class!

i actually had him for econ301,355 and 303.i think he looks like the guy in movie "click". His lecture is not the most interesting BUT it is economic.he is helpful and notes provide a lot of materials to help students with the course. recommended

Extremely helpful teacher

Clear notes. Remember to study the graphs for exams and you'll do fine. Final exam is similar to practice one, but you really have to understand how to do the question! No memorization for this course.

I really enjoyed his class. I felt the assignments were fair, although he didn't always give a lot of notice on them. Not the most structured class in terms of time-frame but if you are ok with that, take him! Really good guy and quality instructor. Generous office hours close to exams.

Great prof, go to the lectures and pay attention and you will do very well!

Very easy assignements, fair test, overall one of the better teachers in the ubc econ department.

Michael is my favorite Econ Prof at UBC!! Assignments are more like bonus marks. I took his 325 and 355, I felt that 365 is much more easier than other courses... more based on Econ 301 stuff..and some policies/history to remember.. Easy to get an A in this class if you memorize his notes and do all his past exams (not a lot).

he is so super super nice but damn he is hard! he makes the material in class so easy and then tricks you on exams! he is super helpful in office hours and he will make sure you don't leave without understanding..plus, he has a great smile (;

Michael Vaney is the man. I had him for four undergrad courses at UBC. Textbooks are never actually required which helps save money. He's one of the few profs who actually provides old finals and midterms for practice in the econ department. The level of math in his classes is a bit higher than other profs, but it was great prep for grad school.

I disagree with the comments below. I came into this class having only ever taken any econ in high school and put little to no effort outside of class and found that just paying attention and taking notes was enough to get me quite a high mark. I thought the homework was at times challenging but the midterms quizzes and finals were easy.

Dont listen to the guy below, his vaney experience was econ 221 and everyone at ubc knows that everything below 300 is a joke. He is by far the hardest and most intensive prof in econ. his 326 is ridiculous as well. if you dont believe me just go to a class and see how many math/stats majors are taking his course.

He's a very good prof; his notes and explanations are clear. Go to lectures and you'll do fine, though sometimes he goes a bit too fast, but re-read your notes and you'll be able to understand. Assignments and sometimes quizzes can be quite challenging, but midterm and final was fair. Definitely recommended! :)

Haven't taken a course that can turn me into a happy nerd in a very long time, and he did it! He teaches incredibly well. Very humorous too! Can't possibly be bored in class. His office hours are extremely helpful. He spent about five mins explaining the stuff that I would spend hours to figure out on my own. Best prof i have ever encountered!

This is a tough course to do very well in. It is marked as 10% problem sets, 30% midterm, 60% final. In his class you basically just sit there and write out his notes, so it was pretty boring. I prefer a more lecture based prof like McIntyre. The final was pretty long & hard; there was one question on optimal tariffs that the class was not taught.

Textbook is not mandatory. I stopped reading it completely by the midterm and did fine. The Quizzes were very hard the class averages were 40 and 50%. Midterm was pretty easy. He scales ALOT in the end. The class average was 69%. Grades are released late, January 3rd.

An excellent mentor and a very cool prof. Make an effort to get to know him and you will benefit from his loose style.

Well didn't buy the textbook. But did very well in the class thanks to his notes. Attending class isn't mandatory but will do well if your go. Notes are very thorough and detailed. Go to office hours ad ta hours. Lot of problem sets so better keepup with all the work. If you learn the material easy exams.

His midterm was tough but fair. Constant note taking each class but overall a really good prof. First time he used a textbook which was pretty much useless.

Problem sets are tough as they include some material neither covered in class nor the textbook. They are doable if one looks for notes online. Exams (both midterms and finals) are easier than the quizzes.

Very nice professor. Notes are crucial for the course. He extended the text book material and test things based on the notes. His scaling up is really helpfu. Had only one day to prepare for the final so it is definetely a course you will get a high grade as long as you work hard.

GO TO HIS CLASS AND TAKE NOTES! INTENSE CONCEPT AND MATH, therefore DRY but if u are good at math, he is ur GPA booster. utilize his office hour, he is much clear and helpful in office hour, very approachable

his teaching style is really awesome, coupled with erudite materials the lectures are really hot and amazing-one of the best professors i have come across during my undergraduate stay in UBC

This course requires a lot of note-taking in class and NEVER SKIP CLASS. Prof assigns quite a lot of assignments and policy reviews but he sometimes extends the deadline. Jot everything down and you should receive a good grade. :)

Both mid-term and Final were extremely difficult, especially for the final. Even if you have revised them, you still don't know how to do it (this is my very first time to leave blanks on the final and I really think that I gonna fail in this course...(hope not)) Better not to take his course if you care your GPA.

Basically, just copy all his notes word for word. You should be able to get at least a C+ ,that is you will have to copy notes for 1.5 hrs straight. If you come from an economics background, this class is 80% review from 301. Since his schedule is given, just go to the lecture you find useful. Exams are not easy, but review isn't really necessary.

If you are a good note-taker, and have a decent understanding of math, this course truly isn't that bad, though it is challenging. Make use of office hour and tutorials. He gives bi-weekly problem sets to solve, which usually have questions taken from past midterms and finals. This class isn't easy, but it's not Math 105 either.

Vaney is SUPER educated in game theory. The course does require a bit of math even though math is not a pre-req. Tests weren't that hard, if you understand the problem sets and previous exams you should be solid in this class.

First 8 am class ever but I barely skipped it since he is a good lecturer. Maybe his hand writing was not clear to read but he gave us enough explanation to understand the contexts. The midterm was really hard and the average was low. But the good thing is he will scale the grades up and gave us an easy final.

By far one of my favourite professors at UBC. You'll have to copy his lecture notes that he writes by hand in class since he does not post his notes online but he's very clear in his lectures and is extremely helpful during his office hours. Exams were not overly difficult if you study and review the assigned problem sets and past exams.

GO TO CLASS otherwise you'll fail. He does not post lecture notes and everything on his exams are from the lectures.

Great prof overall. Exams are hard, but it's upper level econ, so it's to be expected. Micro lectures are straightforward but comprehensive. Would take again.

he is a very nice and helpful professor. His exams are hard but he will scale up :)

This class is not easy, but it is one of the most interesting classes I have taken during my undergrad - I highly recommend it if game theory floats your boat like it floats mine. He does not post lectures online and lectures quickly, but he is clear and helpful during office hours . Start studying early for the final / do past exams. Good luck!

Michael's very approachable, but lectures are hard. He doesn't post notes online so get ready to write a TON.

Good Guy. Blue Polo.

Go to class! Give his lectures a chance and you will learn lots.

Super helpful prof, as long as you attend his lecture, you would learn a lot. Even though there are a lot of notes to take in every lecture (he dose not post online ever), I would like to recommended it. I guess Econ 221 is the easiest course for 200-level Econ, and Micheal's section is supposed to be one of the best one for this course.

Ignore the post saying that his exams are bombs. His midterms are definitely doable if you go to lectures and work through the problem sets. His notes is extremely useful and clear when study for the final exam. His class average is much lower than other prof's but I don't regret taking his course:)

Had him for 221 and 365. Tips for success: 1) Make sure to do his practice midterms and finals. The actual exams will have questions based on the practice questions 2) Attend lectures. Notes are not posted. 3) Complete problem sets. Not going to lie, pretty hard classes so don't do them unless you are really interested in the topics.

Talks pretty quickly and hand-writes the class notes so if you miss class it's virtually impossible to access the material. Super caring guy, if you get to know him and actually listen to what he's saying it's easy to get a good grade. Class average for both midterms were super low but if you put the work in you can easily do well.

Vaney is very nice and professional. clear lecture and always cares about the students. you will definitely learn a lot from Vaney. if u want to major in Econ, go ahead and take Vaney. However, do not expect to get high marks without studying. it applies to all courses though

Great lecturer - interesting, engaging and intelligent. The course material is interesting and he provides enough resources to do well in his class. Definitely one of the best Economic professors.

He is really kind and helpful whenever I asked him questions.

This professor may sometimes feel a little bit distant, but overall he is a good teacher and knows his stuff really really well. Also, his way of teaching is super clear to me and understandable.

He was a good lecturer but did not give very many mathematical examples in class. He did however give a multitude of practice exams and quizzes before exams. Our section got curved heavily in the end. Tough assignments but let you complete them in groups.

Professor Vaney's exams are a bit tough, but not impossibly so, and it makes doing well in them satisfying. The lectures can get heavy with material, but the overall concepts aren't hard and I think professor Vaney does a good job teaching it conceptually. He's not perfect, but he's not as bad as some of the some of the comments make him out to be.

Personally I found this class to be quite easy. The quizzes and final exam were not very difficult. Midterm was slightly harder than average. They key is to attend lectures (He won't post his notes), and practice from the past exams/quizzes, the assignments, and the notes from lectures. Mostly trade models with graphs, numericals and policy.

I loved taking this course! Work hard and attend classes, and you will get a good grade. Content is definitely not easy, but prof really made learning easier in lectures.

Cool and laid back. If you like finance take him.

Biggest tip is to show up to class for this course. Prof. Vaney draws all the graphs on paper and does not post it onto Canvas, so it's up to you to attend class and take notes. He's pretty thorough explaining the graphs and concepts, and he does go through practice questions a lot in class, which are very similar to what is on the final.

355 with Vaney is a hard class, but he's an extremely fair grader and gives you lots of opportunities to boost your grade. The material is complex, but if you show up to class and study, the exams are pretty manageable, as he gives you lots of practice. I definitely recommend ECON 355 if you're looking to take an upper-level economics course.

355 with Vaney is a tough but rewarding class. I would recommend it to someone who is willing to study hard and attend all lectures. Exams and content are quite challenging, however, he gives lots of practice in order to prepare.

knowledgble prof, hard exams. GO TO LECTURES cuz he covers extra contents in class and never posts them on canvas.

THE GOAT. Don't pay attention to the fear mongering, he's a nice guy, and generous in terms of shifting weights. If you show up to class, study hard, and do the practice he provides for quizzes/midterms/final you will do well.

ECON 355 with Vaney is a hard but rewarding class, don't listen to the comments below, yes the class is difficult but Vaney does provide large amounts of practice questions which are similar if not in some cases the same as the ones that are on the midterms/quizzes/final. Take the class is you're willing to attend lectures and study.

Vaney is a hard teacher, but he absolutely knows what he is doing. While his lectures can be quite dull at times, the material he provides in said lectures is extremely informative, and necessary to pass. If you're willing to work for it, a good grade is absolutely reachable.

Really nice professor!

Vaney is really great. He really really understands the material, is super knowledgeable, and takes no BS - so don't try it. He's upfront. If you are confused make sure to go to his office hours, what you get out of his classes is what you put in. do NOT wait to attend office hours until it's too late. Also he doesn't respond to emails well FYI

ECON 374 is with Vaney is a tough class but if you attend lectures and do the practice problems he provides you can easily do well as all tests are based off of what he goes over in lectures which are directly applicable to the practice problems. The class is really interesting and a good elective if you are looking to take a 300-level ECON class.

While it certainly might help to have more Economics background than 101 to take his class, overall I found the lectures very engaging/entertaining and the content straightforward. He is definitely no-BS but I overall found the content in the Quizzes to be quite fair, it was also helpful that he told the class what we could expect in the final.