Dr. Ben Smith came to UNO in the Fall of 2014. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics and a B.B.A. in Finance, both from Washington State University. Dr. Smith’s teaching responsibilities include Micro Principals, Intermediate Microeconomics, Managerial, Essential Concepts (MBA) and Industrial Organization. He is also involved in a number of pedological research projects including nudging students with grade information and the use of non-traditional texts to increase comprehension.

Much of Dr. Smith’s research work has an industrial organization, behavioral or big data focus. Current work includes the voluntary release of patents, app markets with hidden information, social networks and plant agglomeration. Previous work has been published in the Journal of Urban Economics, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Journal of Economic Education, Economics Bulletin, Education Economics, and Significance (amongst others).

Dr. Smith also serves on the advisory and executive board of the Journal of Economics Teaching. As the journal's web developer, the post-acceptance production process is proudly housed in UNO's economics department.

Throughout his education, Dr. Smith ran a small software company. Having entrepreneurial experience, he is affiliated with Center for Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Franchising (CIEF). Additionally, he is active in the open source community, particularly in areas of accounting, teaching tools and productivity software.