Vera Smith was born in England in 1912. She spent her professional life in a variety of research positions and wrote many articles on money, banking, the theory of the firm, economic development, and the labour market. Her books include Italy, a Study in Economic Development (1962) and Central Planning for the Market Economy (1969). She collaborated on several works with her husband, the well-known German economist Friedrich Lutz. She also translated into English books by Wilhelm Roepke, Oskar Morgenstern, and Fritz Machlup. She died in Switzerland in 1976.