http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/8598 2026-04-27T08:11:07Z http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/33182 Title: Programming and the economics curriculum: Evidence from undergraduate student attitudes Authors: Hashimzade, N; Kirsanov, O; Kirsanova, T Abstract: A significant and growing proportion of graduate economics job advertisements in the UK and other countries mentions programming skills. Do undergraduates see that shift, and do they want their degree programme to keep pace? We answer these questions with the first multi-year survey of student attitudes towards programming, administered to 317 economics majors in Years 2–4 at a UK university. The support for curricular integration is overwhelming: 92% favours adding programming and 55% favour making it mandatory. Further analysis shows that support for a compulsory course is strongest among final-year and international students, while the preference for earlier programming exposure is the highest among those still uncertain about their career plans. Confidence in programming skills remains low even in the final year, and students regard generic computer science modules as poor substitutes for economics-focused instruction. Taken together, the survey results strongly suggest that in undergraduate economics programming should be introduced early on and that it should be embedded in discipline-specific content. Moreover, its teaching should be supported throughout the economics curriculum to meet the students’ demand, enhance their employability, and close the skill gaps before they become entrenched. Description: JEL classification: A22; I23; J24; O33.; Data availability: Data will be made available on request.; Supplementary data are available online at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1477388026000095#appSB . 2026-04-20T00:00:00Z http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/33150 Title: Chasing opportunity: spillovers and drivers of US state population growth Authors: Kripfganz, S; Sarafidis, V Abstract: We examine the drivers and spatial diffusion of US state population growth using a dynamic spatial panel model over the period 1965–2017. Methodologically, the spatial network is recovered from the data rather than imposed a priori, and estimation framework permits heterogeneous slopes and interactive fixed effects. Population growth displays heterogeneous conditional convergence: around three-quarters of states converge, while a small high-growth group diverges mildly. Core drivers such as amenities, labour income and migration frictions are robust across network specifications, whereas productivity effects arise only under data-inferred networks. Spatial spillovers are economically meaningful, accounting for roughly one-third of total effects and extending beyond contiguous neighbours. Description: JEL: C31; C33[ J11; R23.; Supplemental Material is available online at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17421772.2026.2624406# . 2026-03-02T00:00:00Z http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/33149 Title: Lucas Islands game in intermediate macroeconomics Authors: Hashimzade, N; Kirsanov, O; Kirsanova, T Abstract: The authors of this article demonstrate how Hazlett’s (1996) adaptation of the Lucas Islands model can be integrated into an intermediate macroeconomics course to strengthen student learning. In the classroom game, students act as workers making labor supply decisions under imperfect information about the aggregate price level, thus generating real-time data on forecasts and labor choices. A structured post-game lecture then uses these data to show how individual price-expectation errors produce a short-run supply relationship consistent with the Lucas supply curve. The instructor can use these results to connect theoretical predictions with empirical testing. The authors argue that this interactive approach is associated with greater confidence in macroeconomic modeling and self-reported understanding of theory while enhancing engagement with both theoretical and empirical aspects of macroeconomics. Description: JEL CODES: A22; E31; E32. 2026-03-11T00:00:00Z http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/33121 Title: Industrial policy with network externalities: Race to the bottom vs win-win outcome Authors: Hashimzade, N; Sun, H Abstract: Industrial policy has returned to the centre of economic governance, particularly in the high-tech sectors where positive network externalities in demand make market dominance self-reinforcing. This paper studies the welfare effects of an industrial policy targeting a sector with network externalities in a two-country model with strategic trade and R&D investment. We show how the welfare consequences of this policy are determined by the interaction between the strength of the externality, the type of R&D, and the degree of product differentiation between the home and the imported goods. When externalities are weak or the goods are close substitutes, the business-stealing effect produces a race to the bottom that dissipates more surplus than it creates. Under sufficiently strong externalities and weak substitutability or complementarity of the goods, industrial policy competition can make both countries simultaneously better off compared to the laissez-faire outcome because of the mutual business-enhancement effect. The case is stronger for the product innovation than for the process innovation, as the former directly affects the demand and triggers a stronger network effect than the latter which operates indirectly through the supply. Thus, network externalities create an opportunity for win-win industrial policies, but its realisation depends on the market structure and the nature of innovation. Description: JEL Codes: F13, H25, L13, O38. 2026-03-30T00:00:00Z