David A. Jaeger is a labor economist who does research on immigration, education, conflict, and applied econometrics, among other topics. He is currently a professor of economics at the University of Cologne He has previously held regular and visting positions at the City University of New York College of William and Mary, Princeton University, the University of Bonn, and the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).

He was the first winner of the Upjohn Institute Dissertation Award, given each year since 1996 for an outstanding dissertation in labor economics. His biography was recently included in Who's Who in Economics as one of the 1,200 most-cited economists in the world during the period 1990-2000. In 2003-2004 he received a research fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung.