Bring a RECORDER! He talks really fast, at least, faster than most people can write. Don't even bother reading the assigned articles because they are ridiculously dense and mind-numbingly boring. Steps to succeed: Go the lecture, tape the lectures (he literally goes over each questions on that list in class), listen to the tape and fill in the answers.

All the reviews are pretty much correct-if you love math, don't take this class. But if you're like me and don't do well with math, then take this professor over mcdevitt. Galles does ramble about things which aren't on the test, and you do have to do all of the questions to do well. I'm pretty sure the only people who got A's were those who went to his office hours every week. The rest of the class got C's-the curve is pretty generous though. Galles is a good lecturer-though not necessarily on the material for the class.

Terrible teacher and an even worse grader. Sometimes he just likes to hear himself talk even when it makes no sense, Avoid at all costs.

So good! He's not for everyone though.

I have to laugh at some of the other reviews. Galles' class is by far the best Econ class I have ever had at UCLA. Period. He is upfront with his students--if you like math, do not take his class. He insists on you thinking about all the bullshit models you learned throughout your economics career. My recommendation is avoid him if you love math and hate writing. Take him if you wonder why we learn so much about models that aren't applicable in the real world. His tests are a bitch though. If you don't understand the concepts, then you can't really cram (the tests are in essay/short answer format).

The review below is pretty much exactly what I had to say. You have to listen back to the lectures. It does take a ton of time. But if you are willing to put in the time, the class isn't bad. The topics are also interesting and he is an entertaining lecturer so the 2.5 hours of class isn't too bad. But make sure you know the answers to all the questions in the reader.

Professor Galles is a great guy and a very interesting lecturer. I learned a lot from this class and I'm glad that I took it because he taught us another side to econ that we normally don't think about and are not taught. I got an A in this class too, and agree that its a lot of work. He speaks very quickly and there's a lot of material. Its very time consuming but you learn a lot, so I guess its up to you. I'd recommend him.

Econ 170 with Galles was the easiest class I've taken at UCLA.

Galles teaches a certain way. He gives the class a lot of study questions, then goes over them in class. I just went to lecture, listened to him tell us the answers to the questions, and remembered the answers.

Both exams come right out of the study questions.

There is no math in this class. Its all reading articles and writing exam-essays. If you are not good at economic theory (i.e. if you are better at the math), I do not recommend this class for you. If you like the social aspects of economics, this is the class for you.

I liked him so much that I am also taking his 106I class.

The bad reviews below are all true. Galles is a professor riddled with flaws. He is a strong lecturer but he often preaches his (paleo-libertarian) views and spreads a lot of propaganda especially in this subject - Economics. He also argues with some of his students from time to time. While I am not a fan of his views, I will admit that I enjoyed his lectures and found them fascinating.

However, his lectures are the only good thing about him. His exams are difficult. The study questions help to an extent but you never know what he wants because he gives NO FEEDBACK WHATSOEVER in the exams. Basically all it has are the points you missed in each of the questions. This is not a quantitative class btw. Exams are all short answer essay questions.

Overall, I would recommend anyone who might be interested in this class to stay away and take someone else. I don't know what tips to give to do well but go to every lecture and do very study question beforehand, that way you won't fail his class.