I'll admit I didn't get a great grade in his class but I'm not going to hold a vendetta against him. My only advice for future students is not to rely on the textbook. All the most important and complicated concepts are not in the it and the genius who made up the UCLA "custom" version happen to cut all the most important concepts that were in the full version that Hou touches on. A large chunk of the second midterm and the final was all based on a single formula so I might as well tell you guys now so you won't stumble on it. The formula is the one that goes... C+I+G+(X-M)=AC(?) and AC=Y at equilibrium. There's also a gazillion other minor small formulas that go with it but I forgot all of them now. Summer setting in...

Overall, Hou's not an excellent professor but he falls par. I admit it's hard to understand him sometimes because he has a Chinese mingled with Australian/British accent but that's what we'll all have to deal with. Most of his lectures are pretty empty. The class website is great, however, and includes a lot of what might get you through the course. It has many past exams: open ended and multiple choice. Another hint that you might want to go to a TA and review the exams early, though, because if you don't understand a concept the answer key will not be excellent at explaining anything at all. That's basically it.

If you plan to take Economics 2 with Mr. Jack Hou, think about it twice.
As all of you know, Economic professors in UCLA are not that good, you can clearly see this in the ratings.

The average grade for the exams is a C-, two midterms, one final. Your current grade is not calculated until 2 weeks after the final, leaving you in confusion whether to drop the class or not.

So why is this class hard? The teacher does not know how to explain, he has a horrible accent, and goes extremely off topic with his "jokes" in which no one understands. Another thing is that if you "go by the book" you won't get very far. The TA's are not available at office hours and nor you can schedule an appointment with the TA's. They say they can, you will see if in the syllabus, but when you go to their offices they are closed.

So, good luck in Econ 2. May the god or deity whom you believe (if any), bless you.

Professor Hou really isn't as bad as all the reviews down there. He's passionate about economics. Even though he always goes on tangents, he always relate them back to economics in some way. Also, he tells you VERY CLEARLY what's going to be on all the exams, so there is practically no way you can fail them with all the practice exams and TA help. GO TO YOUR TA SESSIONS. They are extremely helpful because the TAs usually go over past exam questions. Professor Hou tells you all the types of questions he will put on the test and they are very similar to the ones in the past exams. Do a lot of them, understand the concepts, and most important of all, PRACTICE THE CALCULATIONS. Calculations are a big part of the exams.

When I entered this Macroeconomics class, I sort of hoped that I would learn material which would help me to better understand the world around me as well as get the course credit. Little did I know that this course would be the least educational one yet. I walked into every test feeling prepared, knowing the equations, and understanding the concepts and within moments of opening the exam realized that it was pretty much useless. Prior reviews of Professor Hou are spot on--he is ineffective, distracted, and unavailable in more ways than could be possibly listed here. And class at 7:45 in the morning? Really. Forget the fact that there is hardly an incentive to get up that early for this class, but how is anyone supposed to learn any of the nonsense when they are being put back to sleep by the constant tangents of Professor Hou? I read the reviews of this class here on BruinWalk before attending it and felt like I could somehow be different or see past the challenges described. Not even. Do not take this class unless you are a to-be Econ major and it is a requirement.

First off, I would like to say this will not be an angry tirade due to a poor grade. I got a solid A in this joke of a class. This review is a product of my indescribable frustration with the poor quality of this pseudo-professor. Mr. Jack Hou is a Class-A Douchebag. Not only is he a narcissistic, self-absorbed, and extremely rude man, but he attempts to teach macroeconomics, arguably the easiest class for the economics major, with a false sense of accomplishment and pride. As you may read in other reviews, he makes you show up at 7:45, not 8, to account for his selfish absence in the first and last week of the quarter. The material taught in these lectures can easily be taught in 15 minutes. The rest of the lecture consists of pathetic excuses for jokes and constant references to his poor wife. Mr. Hou may even be called a racist and/or a sexist. He constantly prefaces his irrelevant anecdotes with a prudent statement emphasizing his use of words like "African-American" instead of "Black" and "Woperson" instead of "Woman." Until the entire discussion of race or gender qualifications is eliminated from lecture, Mr. Hou presents himself as prejudiced. I know someone who took Hou's class four years ago and attended his office hours (which are at 5:30 am...) to get help and was ridiculed for asking a question. As Econ 2 was his first class at UCLA, his experience with Hou discouraged him from seeking office hours with any professor for an entire year. Obviously, Hou's unprofessional tendencies can only be expressed so much through words. You must attend his lectures to completely comprehend the extent to how poorly staffed the UCLA faculty can be. Since Hou is the only person teaching Econ 2, if you have to take his class, go to the first couple lectures if you don't believe me and then only show up for exams. Do all of the previous tests, especially the essay questions. This is how you ace the tests without suffering through Hou's painful attempts to mix humor with economics. And Mr. Hou, on the off chance you read this, I would say "Don't quit your day job" in regards to your hackneyed excuses for jokes, but seriously, PLEASE do quit your day job. You are a complete forgery of a professor.

You're on your own in this class. Just read the book thoroughly and take as many practice tests as you can. As in, take ALL OF THEM. He reuses a lot of questions, and he posts them all online.

His curve is somewhat generous. The mean score gets a B-, so passing the class shouldn't be an issue.
Grading is 20% midterm 1, 30% midterm 2, 50% final. No room for error here.

I think Hou is the only prof. that teaches Econ 2. Just take it for the prereq.

WORST PROFESSOR I HAVE EVER HAD!! (Econ 2)

I went to every single lecture and didn't learn a thing. He spends half the time talking about his personal life, and goes off on random tangents. Then, on his tests, he asks you questions about things he never taught. It's ridiculous. When he doesn't teach something, he'll just say "Read the book." But the book sucks horribly, and unfortunately all the multiple choice questions come from the book's test bank.

If you have to take this class or any other Econ classes, I highly recommend NOT taking it with Hou. It's not worth your time.

Not only is he an unfortunate professor - self absorbed, unconcerned, and generally unhelpful - but he is an inconsiderate person.
I asked for an extension or make-up on an exam because my apartment burned down, and he didnt seem to think that was an "extreme" enough reason to make an exception. The word "Asshole" comes to mind.

Hou's lectures were pretty pointless (his incessant talking about random stuff like his wife), so I ended up going to only a few of them. To get an A, go over ALL his old exams. Memorize the answers. He repeats a lot of the same questions. Fortunately, he also has a nice, flexible grading curve. Don't expect to get much out of this class or come out of it enjoying econ - just take it to get rid of a prereq.

Honestly, the reviews for Prof Hou were a little too harsh. He really wasn't THAT BAD of a teacher. If you went to lectures, read the textbook and understood the concepts, (even if you didn't - go to the TA's and ask because they are really helpful), and DO PRACTICE EXAMS! you will be fine. I did all of the above and thought his exams were easy and got an A in this class. All his past exams were online so there is no excuse for saying his tests were hard. Although prof hou doesn't cover all the concepts in his lectures, he covers the hardest concepts, the ones that are harder to learn on your own. in conclusion, if you're lazy and likes the teacher to spoon feeds you the topics, don't take econ 2 with Hou.