A. Allan Schmid received his B.S. in 1956 from the University of Nebraska; his M.S. in 1957 from the University of Wisconsin, with his thesis entitled, "The Soil Bank: An Appraisal of the Experience in Rock County, Wisconsin;" and his Ph.D. in 1959 from the University of Wisconsin, with his thesis entitled, "Water Allocation and Development in Wisconsin."

Schmid became an assistant professor at Michigan State University in 1959, achieved a full professorship in 1968, and in 1998 was elevated to the position of University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics and the Department of Resource Development. Schmid retired from MSU in 2006. He passed away in 2017.

Focusing on politics and economics, Schmid's bibliography includes the following books: Conflict and Cooperation: Institutional and Behavioral Economics (2004); The Economy as a Process of Valuation (1997); Beyond Agriculture and Economics (editor, 1997); Benefit-Cost Analysis: A Political Economy Approach (1989); Property, Power, and Public Choice (1987/1978); Law and Economics: An Institutionalist Perspective (1980); Policy Aspects of Land-Use Planning in Ireland (1983); Converting Land from Rural to Urban Uses (1968).