Michael D Smith

Michael is a Supervisory Research Economist who leads the Economic and Social Sciences Research Program (ESSRP) at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service. ESSRP collects and analyzes economic and socio-cultural data to promote resilient socio-ecological communities and to support the conservation and management of Alaska's marine resources. Michael’s current research focuses on the economics of food security, measuring climate resilience, and assessing the physical, transition, and equity risks of climate change. He is a chapter author on the U.S. Global Change Research Program’s Fifth National Climate Assessment (NCA5). He also serves as a subject matter expert for the World Meteorological Organization and the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. Before coming to NOAA Fisheries, he worked as a senior research economist in the NOAA Chief Economist’s Office.

Before NOAA, Michael worked at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), where his work focused on the economics of substance abuse, mental health service delivery, and infectious diseases. Prior to joining SAMHSA, he worked as a research economist at the Economic Research Service (ERS) at USDA, identifying the determinants and effects of food insecurity and quantifying the benefits of food assistance programs. Before joining ERS, he worked as a statistician at the U.S. Census Bureau in the Research and Development and Innovation Survey Branch, a survey cosponsored by the National Science Foundation. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from American University, an M.A. in economics from California State University, Fullerton, and a B.A. in Political Science, with a minor in Geophysics, from the University of Hawaii, at Mānoa.

Michael’s research staff includes Brian Garber-Yonts, Chang Seung, Dan Lew, Marysia Szymkowiak, Michael Dalton, Sarah Wise, and Stephen Kasperski. 

Michael’s Google Scholar Profile.