Dr. Smith is widely recognized as the "father of experimental economics" and is additionally recognized for seminal contributions to production theory, public choice, environmental economics, behavioral economics and has been foundational in the emerging field of neuroeconomics.

On December 10, 2002 Dr. Smith received the >Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel – the Nobel Prize in Economics – from His Majesty Carl XVI Gustaf for "having established laboratory experiments as a tool in empirical economic analysis, especially in the study of alternative market mechanisms."