So the target market is economics departments at other colleges/universities? You're are talking essentially about a piece of education software sold to institutions, not to end users/players.

In this case, I think, you'll have to make a business case for the proposition. I am not sure enough people will find this idea fun enough to contribute their time for free.

Another point: do you really have to develop a new game from scratch? Doing a mod of an existing game or engine is likely to be vastly simpler and cheaper.