PUBPOL-304

ECON OF THE PUB SEC

Offered Fall 2026
PPS · Taught by Corey, Joab · Last offered Fall 2025
Term
Instructor

Overview

Feedback is mostly positive. The strongest signal is that students generally rate the course well. Best for students who are genuinely interested in the topic and willing to engage with the course on its own terms.

DepartmentPPS
Terms offeredFall, Spring
Typical enrollment37–90
Semesters of data4
2.9
Hrs / week
144
Responses
429
Enrollment
34%
Response Rate

Evaluation Scores

Overall quality
Teaching, content, and experience combined.
4.1
12345
Intellectually stimulating
Challenges students to think deeply.
3.9
12345
Instructor effectiveness
Explains concepts and facilitates learning.
4.4
12345
Difficulty
Higher means harder.
2.7
12345

Feedback Analysis

Feedback Analysishigh
Analysis based on student evaluations
Based on 425 comments across 7 sections

Feedback is mostly positive. The strongest signal is that students generally rate the course well. Best for students who are genuinely interested in the topic and willing to engage with the course on its own terms.

Student Reports
How hard is the A?
A is doable but not automatic
The signal here is more do-the-work-and-you-should-be-fine than easy-A chatter. Students do not describe the A as automatic, but the evidence also does not paint grading as punishing.
Homework Load
Moderate homework load
Homework load looks moderate. The recurring signal is steady weekly work, but not a course that turns every assignment into a grind.
Lecture Load
Lighter lecture burden
Student comments describe this as more discussion-, seminar-, or workshop-driven than lecture-dependent. The lecture burden itself does not sound like the main source of friction.
Strengths
• Instructor ratings are strong even when the comments do not cluster around one obvious positive theme.
Tradeoffs
• There is no single dominant complaint theme, but the feedback is not uniformly glowing either.
Best fit for
Best for students who are genuinely interested in the topic and willing to engage with the course on its own terms.

Student Responses

How social insurance programs work, the burden of taxes and who carries them, cost-benefit analysis
Spring 2025 · Wilson, Norbert
I learned about the health care system from an economic perspective. I learned how to calculate and graph things like dead weight loss. I learned reasons for government intervention in the economy.
Spring 2025 · Wilson, Norbert
I learned more about the federal bureaucracy, the theoretical economics behind government programs, and the process of budgeting on behalf of public institutions.
Spring 2025 · Wilson, Norbert
Learned a lot about the economic-side of governing. Talked a lot about taxes, insurance, and incentives.
Spring 2025 · Wilson, Norbert
Histories of government policies
Spring 2024 · Wilson, Norbert

Rating History

Rating history
Error bars show \u00B11 std dev
TermInstructorOverallDifficultyHrs/wkEnrolled
Fall 2025Corey, Joab 5.0Rate My ProfessorsQuality5.0Difficulty1.5Would retake100%Based on 8 ratingsClick to view on RMP →4.42.5—161
Spring 2025Wilson, Norbert 2.9Rate My ProfessorsQuality2.9Difficulty2.9Would retake50%Based on 16 ratingsClick to view on RMP →3.82.92.8112
Fall 2024Corey, Joab 5.0Rate My ProfessorsQuality5.0Difficulty1.5Would retake100%Based on 8 ratingsClick to view on RMP →4.72.52.754
Spring 2024Wilson, Norbert 2.9Rate My ProfessorsQuality2.9Difficulty2.9Would retake50%Based on 16 ratingsClick to view on RMP →3.43.23.4102

Instructor

Corey, JoabPPS
Also teaches
PUBPOL-303D MICROECONOMIC POLICY TOOLS4.4