Virginia Tech Economics

10/12/2026

Thinking about what comes after your bachelor’s degree? Join us on Tuesday, October 20th for an info session on our Accelerated Master’s program in Economics and the Accelerated Master's in Data Science offered by the Academy of Data Science

Students in the program tell us they chose it for three reasons: finishing a master’s with only one more year of school, strengthening their job prospects and earning potential, and building deeper data and research skills. Come hear how the programs work and how they fit into your current degree plan.

📅 Tuesday, October 20 at 6:30 PM
📍 New Classroom Bldg Room 130B
🎟 Register: https://forms.gle/xip5qYgCqyigKZPDA

Know a current student who should be in the room? Tag them in the comments or share this post with them!

10/12/2026

Congratulations to Jadrian Wooten, who has been named a 2026 Co-Recipient of the Kenneth G. Elzinga Distinguished Teaching Award from the Southern Economic Association. He’ll be formally recognized at the SEA annual meetings in Houston next month.

The award honors educators who are exceptional at conveying economic concepts and who push teaching forward through innovative instruction, unusual courses that explore the boundaries of economics, or interdisciplinary approaches. We think that description fits Jadrian very well!

09/24/2026

Congratulations to Arin Shahbazian on successfully defending his PhD dissertation. Dr. Shahbazian's research uses causal inference methods to examine how financial incentives can promote lasting weight loss in weight control programs. His work demonstrates the value of an economics degree and highlights implications for designing programs that actually change behavior.

Beyond his research, Arin spent the past 3 years as an instructor in our department and completed an internship with the UVA Department of Public Health Sciences. Looking ahead, Arin wants to continue in quantitative healthcare roles.

Congratulations, Dr. Shahbazian! We're so proud of you.

09/10/2026

We’re excited to announce the 2026 Friends of Economics Scholars! 🎉
🏅 Katrina Dant (Virginia Beach, VA)
🏅 Eavan Driscoll (Charlottesville, VA)
🏅 Anthony Troiano (Pembroke, MA)

Learn more about our outstanding and their plans for the future!

08/13/2026

We'll be in Richmond tonight at Hardywood Park Craft Brewery! We hope to see you there!

Alumni and friends in Richmond, we're coming to you!

After several great years hosting our DC event, we've heard from our Richmond community that you'd like to be involved. So we're hosting our first-ever Alumni & Friends Social in Richmond this August!

Join us for an evening of good food, good company, and updates on everything happening in the department back in Blacksburg. We've done some incredible things over the past year, and we'd love to tell you all about it!

📅 Wednesday, August 13, 2026
🕕 6:00–8:00 PM
📍 Hardywood Park Craft Brewery
🎟️ $10 (includes heavy appetizers and a drink ticket)

🔗 Register here: https://aimsbbis.vt.edu/econrva26

07/22/2026

Congratulations to Ross Spoon, our latest PhD graduate!

Ross's dissertation uses laboratory experiments to study what drives asset market instability, from the borrowing constraints that fuel bubbles and short squeezes to the physiological stress responses that separate high earners from low earners when markets turn. He has also developed an open-source platform that makes it easier for other researchers to run these kinds of experiments.

Dr. Spoon will return to campus this fall to continue teaching with VT Economics and Virginia Tech College of Science.

07/16/2026

Congratulations to Priyambada Bandyopadhyay, who successfully defended her PhD dissertation this week. She joins a long and accomplished line of doctoral graduates.

Priya's research sits at the intersection of behavioral economics and finance, examining how responses to risk and uncertainty shape financial decision-making at both the individual and institutional levels. Her work explores how behavioral traits influence personal financial choices and how perceptions of risk affect the allocation of foreign capital to domestic investments.

This fall, Priya will take her expertise to the South Carolina Governor's School for Science & Mathematics, where she'll join the faculty as an instructor. Her students are lucky to have her.

Congratulations, Dr. Bandyopadhyay!

07/16/2026

When The New York Times needed an economist to make sense of the U.S.-Iran agreement and its implications for Iran's economic future, it called on Djavad Salehi-Isfahani.

Lifting oil sanctions will obviously have a significant economic impact on the country, but Professor Salehi-Isfahani is most optimistic about the removal of financial sanctions. Oil revenues flow to the government, but financial freedom flows to ordinary Iranians. That creates the conditions for real businesses and real jobs.

Read the full article at the link below:

The country has long faced some of the world’s heaviest sanctions. The lifting of restrictions could open new vistas on trade and financial access.

07/09/2026

Alumni and friends in Richmond, we're coming to you!

After several great years hosting our DC event, we've heard from our Richmond community that you'd like to be involved. So we're hosting our first-ever Alumni & Friends Social in Richmond this August!

Join us for an evening of good food, good company, and updates on everything happening in the department back in Blacksburg. We've done some incredible things over the past year, and we'd love to tell you all about it!

📅 Wednesday, August 13, 2026
🕕 6:00–8:00 PM
📍 Hardywood Park Craft Brewery
🎟️ $10 (includes heavy appetizers and a drink ticket)

🔗 Register here: https://aimsbbis.vt.edu/econrva26

06/22/2026

More information doesn't always mean better decisions, and one of our PhD graduates proved it. Nandini Das spent three years studying agricultural training programs on Bhola Island in Bangladesh. Her finding? Giving farmers too much information at once can actually get in the way of progress.

Her research led to a redesigned training program that narrowed its focus and added season-long support. The result: pesticide use dropped 30 to 50 percent and yields went up.

Full story:

Nandini Das’ doctoral research in Bangladesh shows how focused, sustained support can help farmers adopt more sustainable agricultural practices.