Mariyana Zapryanova is an assistant professor in the Department of Economics at Smith College. Her research interests are in law and economics and economics of crime. She earned her Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2015.

Professor Zapryanova’s research focuses primarily on studying the determinants of recidivism and crime rates. Through her scholarly work, she seeks to answer some of the following questions. What is the effect of time in prison and time on parole on reoffending? How do prison composition and characteristics affect recidivism rates? Could ambient light affect criminal behavior? Do various justice-related policies curb racial disparities in the criminal justice system?