CV
Dana Jezierny Smith
djsmith@holycross.edu Stein Hall 444, College of the Holy Cross, 1 College St, Worcester MA, 01610
Click Here for PDF [updated 10/26]
Academic Positions
College of the Holy Cross July 2024-present
Assistant Professor, Department of Economics and Accounting
Education
Ph.D. Cornell University, Applied Economics & Management May 2024
Research Interests: Development economics, labor economics, applied microeconomics, economics of immigration
Committee: Nancy Chau (chair), Ravi Kanbur, Brian Dillon, Filiz Garip (Princeton U.)
M.S. Cornell University, Applied Economics & Management May 2022
B.A. Lafayette College, May 2018
Mathematics & Economics, International Affairs double major (summa cum laude)
Spanish minor
London School of Economics Summer 2016
Coursework in Development Economics
Peer-Reviewed Publications
Dana J. Smith, Christian, Paul, Brian Dillon, Erin Lentz, Hope Michelson, and Joanna Upton. “Sentinels and Satellites: Food Security Monitoring from Near and Far” Food Policy (2026) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2026.103189
Smith, Dana J. “Climate Change, Violence, and Remittance Flows in Mexico” International Migration Review (2025) https://doi.org/10.1177/01979183251392493
Smith, Dana J. “What Drives Undocumented Immigration? Policy, economic, and social factors in the US and Mexico” The Eastern Economic Journal (2025) https://doi.org/10.1057/s41302-025-00313-9
Smith, Dana J., Jennifer Ifft, and Ejin Kim. “Minimum wage increases and agricultural employment of locals and guest workers.” Journal of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association 1, no. 3 (2022): 200-221 https://doi.org/10.1002/jaa2.27
Working Papers
Smith, Dana J., Huiyi Chen, and Molly Brewer (’27). “The Effect of Abortion Bans on College Decisions”
Sergio Puerto and Dana J. Smith. “Return Migration and Labor Allocation in Ethiopia”
Selected Works in Progress
Smith, Dana J., Anthony Ponce, and Luc Esprabens. “Converging Crises: Understanding the Impact of Climate Change and Violence on Migration in Mexico”
Smith, Dana J. “American Immigration Policy and Violence Against Women in Mexico”
Smith, Dana J., Joanna B. Upton and Farnaz Safari. “Self-Selection and Shocks: Exploring Migration Patterns in Malawi”
Other Published Writing
Smith, Dana J. “The Economic Impacts of Immigration,” The College Street Journal, February 2025 edition
Teaching experience
Instructor of Record
College of the Holy Cross, Economics and Accounting
ECON110 Principles of Economics Fall 2024, 2025
ECON334 Economics of Immigration Spring 2025, 2026
ECON265 Quantitative Microeconomics Spring 2026
Elmira College, Business & Economics
ECO2020 Principles of Macroeconomics Spring 2023
ECO3040 Intermediate Microeconomics Spring 2023
ECO3041 Intermediate Macroeconomics Spring 2023
Teaching Assistant
Cornell University, Applied Economics and Management
AEM4150/5150 Price Analysis Fall 2021
AEM2350 Introduction of the Economics of Development Summer 2021, Summer 2022
AEM2000 Contemporary Controversies in the Global Economy Spring 2020, Spring 2021
AEM2800 Hot Economic Issues in the News Today Fall 2020
AEM2600 Managerial Economics Fall 2019
Other
Cornell University, Farmworkers Program Spring 2021-Spring 2023
English Tutor
Lafayette College, Economics Fall 2015 – Fall 2018
Supplemental Instructor: Intermediate Macroeconomics (Economics 252), Intermediate Microeconomics (Economics 251)
Tutor: Intermediate Microeconomics, Calculus- all levels, Applied Statistics
Presentations and invited lectures
2026:
LAC-PaL Virtual Seminar
Presenter: “The Effect of Abortion Bans on College Decisions”
College of the Holy Cross Weiss Summer Research Seminar
Presenter: “American Immigration Policy and Violence Against Women in Mexico”
LACDev Conference (Middletown, CT)
Presenter: “Return Migration and Labor Allocation in Ethiopia”
APPAM Annual Meeting (Boston, MA)
Presenter: “The Effect of Abortion Bans on College Decisions”
2025:
Southern Economic Association Annual Meeting (Tampa, FL)
Presenter: “American Immigration Policy and Violence Against Women in Mexico”
Discussant in Graduate Student Section
LACDev Conference (Portland, OR)
Presenter: “Shifting Winds: Shocks and the Self-Selection of Seasonal Migrants Across Sub-Saharan Africa”
Royal Economic Society Annual Meeting (Birmingham, UK)
Presenter: “Climate Change, Violence, and Remittance Flows in Mexico”
Western Economic Association International Annual Conference (San Francisco, CA)
Presenter: “Climate Change, Violence, and Remittance Flows in Mexico”
CERDI Junior Seminar on the Economics of Migration (Virtual)
Presenter: “Climate Change, Violence, and Remittance Flows in Mexico”
Discussant
Midwest Economic Association Annual Meeting (Kansas City, MO)
Presenter: “Climate Change, Violence, and Remittance Flows in Mexico”
Discussant
Discussant in Undergraduate Session
2024: Cornell University AEP Seminar (presenter), University of Scranton (presenter), Siena University (presenter)
2023: Lafayette College (presenter), Cornell University Development Economics Seminar (presenter), Dickinson College (presenter)
2022: AAEA Annual Meeting (presenter), Pacific Conference for Development Economics (presenter)
2021: PAA Annual Meeting (presenter), PAA Applied Demography Virtual Conference (presenter)
2018: Omicron Delta Epsilon Conference (presenter)
2017: Lehigh Valley Association of Independent Colleges: From War to Peace (presenter)
Professional training
Teaching training –WRIT 7101 Writing in the Majors Seminar, Spring 2021
Teaching training – Teaching and Learning in the Diverse Classroom, Fall 2020
Honors and Awards
Research Grant Provost’s Supplemental Fund ($2,400) Spring 2025
2025 Dyson Best Ph.D. Dissertation Award, Cornell University Spring 2025
Graduate Fellowship, Cornell University Fall 2023, Fall 2024
President’s Council of Cornell Women grant ($2,400) Summer 2022
Dyson Graduate Teaching Assistant Outstanding Service Award, Cornell University Spring 2022
Graduate Research Assistantship, Cornell University Spring 2020
Graduate Teaching Assistant Fellowships, Cornell University Fall 2019, Fall 2020-Spring 2022
Graduate Fellowship, Cornell University 2018-2019
Athletic Scholarship, Lafayette College 2015-2018
Marquis Scholar, Lafayette College 2014-2018
Class of 1913 Trophy, Lafayette College Spring 2018
Frank Kline Baker Spanish & Latin American Civilization Award, Lafayette College Spring 2018
Maroon Club Scholar Athlete Award, Lafayette College Fall 2017
Service to the Department
Department of Economics and Accounting Committees
Honors selection committee 2024-2025; Awards committee 2025-2026; Omicron Delta Epsilon coordinator 2025-2026
Student Mentoring
Weiss Summer Research Program faculty mentor (Molly Brewer ’27, Emely Garcia ’27, Hannah Delaney ‘28); Thesis Advisor (Emilia Bielska ’27); JD Power Research Associate Advisor (Molly Brewer ’27, Natalie McDonough ’29); BJF Debating Society Guest Judge (Fall 2025, Fall 2026)
Service to the Profession
Diversity in Cornell Economics – invited panelist 2025
Agricultural & Applied Economics Association Committee on Women in Agricultural Economics – invited panelist 2025
Southern Economic Association – discussant outstanding graduate student paper section 2025.
Midwest Economic Association– discussant undergraduate section, reviewer for best undergraduate paper 2025.
Diversity in Cornell Economics – member 2020-2024, executive committee member 2021-2024.
Dyson Diversity Council – member 2021-2024, Graduate Programming Liaison 2021-2024.
Graduate Students for Gender Equity in Economics – member 2021-2024, Chair 2022-2023.
Referee service
International Migration Review (2022), Economic Modelling (2024), US Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service (2024), Data & Policy (2025), Food Policy (2026), Food Security (2026), Demography (2026)
Skills
Languages: English (native), Spanish (professional), Russian (basic), Portuguese (basic)
Programming and software: Stata, R, Latex, MATLAB, Mathematica
Other: Four-year letter winner in Division I Lacrosse