Catherine Guirkinger is a professor of economics in the Center for Research in Economic Development (CRED) at the University of Namur (Belgium). Her main field is development economics and her main area of research is the economics of households and extended families, particularly in Africa. Most of her empirical work is based on first hand data she collected (or helped collect) in several countries (Cameroon, Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin, Peru, Honduras). She also has a strong interest in economic history and in particular on the impacts of colonization on local populations. She is investigating for example how Belgian colonial policies affected women and their relative position in the Congo. She also has several papers focusing on the colonization of Kazakhstan by Russian settlers in the 19th century.