John Nachbar

Lectures are incredibly interesting, but sometimes hard to follow because the material is difficult. Make sure to sit in the front so you can hear everything Nachbar says clearly! Homework and office hours are really helpful; he is super willing to go over examples again and re-explain concepts. 10/10 recommend taking this class with Nachbar.

5/16/2023

Nachbar isn't the greatest lecturer in the world; be prepared to be lost pretty quickly, but the homework he assigns is extremely helpful and the material is pretty interesting. Exams are usually pretty hard, but he curves really generously so that the average is always around a B+/A. Do the homework and study for exams and you'll be fine.

5/7/2023

Great professor. Gives very clear lectures w amazingly detailed slides. Able to communicate abstract and theoretical concepts in an easy-to-grasp manner. Class is quite difficult, w/ level of complexity and mathematics ramping up quickly in the later third of the course. Very accessible outside of class and will respond to emails almost instantly.

12/26/2022

Professor Nachbar is super caring and really cares about his students. The course is lecture heavy and homework and exams can be a bit tricky. Going to office hours definitely helps!

11/16/2022

ECON4011 starts off pretty easy but ends rather hard. Prepare for a lot of math. Know how to do KKT for the final. Lecture attendance isn't mandatory (I didn't go), and Nachbar's slides are *incredible*. Definitely review the slides and textbook thoroughly. Don't fall behind schedule even if you don't go to lectures because it's hard to catch up.

7/25/2022

Gives very thorough and nuanced lectures. You can tell he thinks from students' perspectives and he means it when he wants you to understand rather than brute memorize most concepts. The exams are not necessarily easy but he is accommodating with homework and grading. Incorporates real examples and gives general recommendations for econ majors.

5/16/2022

Nachbar teaches at a very conceptual and almost theoretical level. Because of this, it was often quite difficult to apply those concepts to homework and exam problems. Nachbar does care about all of his students though, and he wants to make sure everyone understands the material. Making use of office hours will lead to success in his classes.

5/9/2021

Professor Nachbar is great and always made sure he explained material clearly. It's a lot of algebra so it's easy to get lost quickly and details matter. Online homework sets were challenging but good review. Tests were fine and he was very good about holding review sessions and plenty of office hours beforehand, even after the switch to online.

10/14/2020

Professor Nachbar is great. He handled the transition to online well and was very understanding, and he does a great job of making complex material understandable. His grading is also very fair and he is accessibly. I like that his main concern is that you learn the material (as opposed to homework, participation). A+

5/7/2020

Nachbar is fantastic: great at communicating complex ideas, deeply passionate about the material, and cares about his students' success. However, this class is NOT FOR EVERYONE. This class is entirely mathematical, employing heavy abstraction and requiring technical proofs. Take if looking for an introduction to graduate-level economic theory.

5/4/2018

He knows a lot and makes it easy to understand the course.

12/31/2016

Phenomenal professor. His lectures were fantastic, he covered a lot of material, and he gave weekly homeworks. That said, his office hours were incredibly useful and he made sure you understood the material. His grading scheme and expectations were clear. Professor Nachbar is my favorite professor I've had at Washu (and I'm a senior now).

9/28/2015