Distinguished Faculty AwardJo Beth Mertens
Jo Beth Mertens
Associate Professor Emeritus of Economics
1997-2015
A specialist in tax and economic policy, Mertens taught at HWS from 1997 to 2015, with a wide range of courses exploring collective bargaining and labor relations, sports economics and public finance, among others. Her research and scholarship have explored economic policy in developing countries, regional economic development, and tax reform in transition economies. She served in a number of leadership roles within the HWS faculty, including as chair of the Economics Department, director of the Public Policy Program and chair for the Committee on the Faculty. She returned to HWS after her retirement, serving as the Special Assistant to the President for Student Success from 2017 to 2019. Mertens was named the New York State Professor of the Year in 2005 and the Chi Phi National Advisor of the Year in 2011. She was the 2011 recipient of the Colleges’ Community Service Award and a 2003 Fulbright Teaching Scholarship to Vietnam. In addition to her duties at HWS, Mertens served in consulting roles across the world on tax policy and tax administration. She was the resident advisor on tax policy at the Ministry of Finance in Ukraine in 1993 and the Russian Ministry of Finance in 1994. Mertens has consulted for many agencies, including the U.S. Department of Treasury, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank. She was a member of the American Economics Association, Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession, International Association of Feminist Economics and the National Tax Association. She holds a B.A. from the University of Arkansas, an M.A. from Duke University and a Ph.D. from Emory University. Read more here.
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