{"id":2,"date":"2016-01-26T10:06:40","date_gmt":"2016-01-26T09:06:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/perso.unamur.be\/~cguirkin\/?page_id=2"},"modified":"2026-03-04T22:43:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T21:43:07","slug":"research","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/catherine.guirkinger.com\/index.php\/research\/","title":{"rendered":"Research"},"content":{"rendered":"<h5><span style=\"color: #333333;\">Working Papers<\/span><\/h5>\n<ul class=\"list check\"><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>with P. Alvarez and P. Villar, 2025, <span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/ideas.repec.org\/p\/nam\/defipp\/2502.html\">School Clustering and Religious Competition: Persistence of Educational Inequality in Colonial and Post-Colonial Congo<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>with H. Champeaux, 2025, The Price of Height: Parental Investments in Daughters and Marriage Payments in sub-Saharan Africa<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>with D. Baraka, 2024, Gender Inequality in Workload and Nutrition in Agricultural Households &#8211; New Insights from Activity Tracker Data in Rural Burkina Faso<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>with J.M. Baland, P. Levebvre and K. Morsink, 2023, Domestic Violence, Divorce and Women Empowerment<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><\/ul>\n<h5><strong>Publications<\/strong><\/h5>\n<ul class=\"list check\"><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>with P. Villar,<\/strong>\u00a0 <strong>2026<\/strong>, <strong>A Mandate to Multiply: The Effects of Pro-Birth Policies on Fertility in Colonial Congo, <\/strong><span style=\"color: #333333;\"><em>The Economic Journal<\/em><\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #333333;\">, <\/span><\/strong><span style=\"color: #333333;\">conditionally <\/span><span style=\"color: #333333;\">accepted<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>with J.P. Platteau and Z. Wahhaj, 2025, <span data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\">Behind the Veil of Cultural Persistence: Marriage and Divorce in a Migrant Community, <\/span><\/strong><span style=\"color: #333333;\"><em>The Economic Journal<\/em><strong>,\u00a0<\/strong>accepted<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>with D. Baraka, 2025, Cooperation in Polygamous Households. Experimental Evidence from Northern Benin,\u00a0<\/strong><em><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Economic Development and Cultural Change<\/span>,\u00a0<\/em>accepted<\/li>\n<li><strong>with Q. Stoeffler, 2025, <\/strong><span data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/ideas.repec.org\/p\/nam\/defipp\/2503.html\"><strong>New economic opportunities and children outcomes: negative effects of artisanal mines on primary education<\/strong><\/a><\/span>, <span style=\"color: #333333;\"><em>The World Bank Economic Review<\/em>, conditionally accepted<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>with J.M. Baland, L. Bequet and C. Manuel, 2024,\u00a0 <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Sharing norm, Household Efficiency and Female demand for Agency in the Philippines<\/span>, <\/strong><em><span style=\"color: #000000;\">World Development<\/span>,<\/em> 174.<\/li>\n<li><strong>with Q. Stoeffler, M. Carter, and W. Gelade, 2022,<\/strong> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>The Spillover Impact of Index Insurance on Agricultural Investment by Cotton Farmers in Burkina Faso<\/strong><\/span>, <span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>The\u00a0World Bank Economic Review<\/em>, 36(1)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>with G. Aldashev, A. Aldashev and M. Fodor, 2021, <span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/catherine.guirkinger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/20201183_accepted.pdf\">Economic persistence despite adverse policies: Evidence from Kyrgyzstan<\/a><\/span>,\u00a0<\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>The Economic Journal<\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>with Q. Stoeffler, M. Carter and W. Gelade, 2021, <span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/catherine.guirkinger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/20201183_accepted.pdf\">The Spillover Impacts of Index Insurance on Agricultural Investment by Cotton Farmers in Burkina Faso<\/a><\/span><\/strong>,<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> <em>The World Bank Economic Review<\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>with J. Gross and J.P.\u00a0<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Platteau, 2021,<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0 <span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/catherine.guirkinger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/WomenEmancipationBF_WD.pdf\">Are women emancipating? Evidence from marriage, divorce and remarriage in rural Northern Burkina Faso<\/a><\/strong>, <em>World Development, 146<\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>with J. Gross and J.P. <span style=\"color: #000000;\">Platteau, 2020,<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/catherine.guirkinger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/JDE2020_BuyFoodAsYouNeed.pdf\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Buy as you Need: Nutrition and Food Storage Imperfections<\/strong><\/span><\/a>,\u00a0<em>Journal of Development Economics, <\/em>144<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>with\u00a0J.P. Platteau, 2020<\/strong>,<a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/catherine.guirkinger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Chapter-13_EDI-Handbook_AAS_Version1.pdf\"> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>The dynamics of family systems<\/strong><\/span><\/a>. In J.-M. Baland, F. Bourguignon, J.-P. Platteau, and T. Verdier (Eds.), The Handbook of Economic Development and Institutions. Princeton University Press.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>with E. Serfilippi and M. Carter, 2019, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a style=\"color: #000000; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http:\/\/perso.unamur.be\/~cguirkin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/greatly_value_certainty_vfin.pdf\">Certain and uncertain utility and insurance demand: Results from a framed field experiment in Burkina Faso<\/a><\/span>, <\/strong><em>Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization,\u00a0180, 731-743<\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>with J.-M. Baland and R. Hartwig, 2019, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a style=\"color: #000000; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http:\/\/perso.unamur.be\/~cguirkin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/NowOrLaterMarch19.pdf\">Now or later? The allocation of the pot and the insurance motive in fixed roscas<\/a><\/span>,<\/strong> <em>Journal of Development Economics,\u00a0140, 1-11<\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>with M. Delpierre and J. P. Platteau, 2019, <a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"http:\/\/perso.unamur.be\/~cguirkin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/riskandprivatization.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Risk as an impediment to individualization of land tenure<\/a><\/strong>. <em>Economic Development and Cultural Change, 67(4)<\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">with W. Gelade, 2018, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a style=\"color: #000000; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http:\/\/perso.unamur.be\/~cguirkin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/PaperMonitoring_final.pdf\">The enforcement advantage of external monitoring: Lessons from an experiment with joint-liability groups in Burkina Faso<\/a><\/span><\/span>,<\/strong> <em>Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 151(C): 307-325<br \/><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>with G. Aldashev, 2017, <span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"http:\/\/perso.unamur.be\/~cguirkin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Aldashev_Guirkinger_SocialStructureKaz_2016.pdf\">Colonization and changing social structure: Kazakhstan, 1896-1910<\/a><\/span>,<\/strong> <em>Journal of Development Economics, 127: 413-430<br \/><\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>with J.P. Platteau, 2017,<\/strong> <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Transformation of African farm households<a style=\"color: #000000; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http:\/\/perso.unamur.be\/~cguirkin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Guirkinger_Platteau_FamilyDynamics_aug.pdf\">: a<\/a>\u00a0short survey of economic contributions<\/span>,\u00a0<\/strong><em>Journal of Demographic Economics, 83(1): 41-50<br \/><\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>with J.M. Baland, I. Bonjean and R. Ziparro, 2016,\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000000; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http:\/\/perso.unamur.be\/~cguirkin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/JDE2016_cameroon.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The economic consequences of mutual help in extended families<\/a><\/strong>, <em>Journal of Development Economics\u00a0123: \u00a038\u201356<\/em>.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>with G. Aldashev, 2016,\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000000; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http:\/\/perso.unamur.be\/~cguirkin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/JEH2016.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Clans and Ploughs: Traditional Institutions and Productivity Decisions of Kazakhs under Russian colonization of Kazakhstan<\/a>,<\/strong>\u00a0<em>The<\/em>\u00a0<em>Journal of Economic History\u00a076(1): 76-108<\/em><em>.<\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>with J.P. Platteau and T. Goetghebuer, 2015, <a style=\"color: #000000; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http:\/\/perso.unamur.be\/~cguirkin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/JDE2015.pdf\" rel=\"\">Productive inefficiency in extended agricultural households: Evidence from Mali<\/a>.<\/strong>\u00a0<em>Journal of Development Economics\u00a0116: \u00a017\u201327.<\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>with J.P. Platteau, 2015,\u00a0<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"http:\/\/perso.unamur.be\/~cguirkin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Transformation_of_African_FarmcumFamily_Structures.pdf\">Transformation of African Farm-cum-Family Structures<\/a><\/span><\/strong>, In C. Monga, and\u00a0J.Y. Lin (Eds.),\u00a0Oxford Handbook of Africa and Economics, Oxford University Press.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>with J.P. Platteau, 2015, <a style=\"color: #000000; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http:\/\/perso.unamur.be\/~cguirkin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/JCE2015.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Transformation of the Family under Rising Land Pressure: A Theoretical Essay<\/a><\/strong><strong>,<\/strong>\u00a0<em>Journal of Comparative Economics<\/em>, <em>43 112-137.<\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>with J.P. Platteau, 2014, <a style=\"color: #000000; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http:\/\/perso.unamur.be\/~cguirkin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/EDCC2014.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Effect of Land Scarcity on Farm Structure: Empirical Evidence from Mali<\/a>,<\/strong>\u00a0<em>Economic Development and Cultural Change, 62(2) 195-238<\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>with G. Elabed, M.\u00a0Bellemare and M.\u00a0Carter, 2013, <a style=\"color: #000000; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http:\/\/perso.unamur.be\/~cguirkin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/agec12025.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Managing basis risk with multiscale index insurance<\/a>,\u00a0<\/strong><em>Agricultural Economics, 44 (4-5)<\/em>.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>with G. Aldashev, 2012, <a style=\"color: #000000; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http:\/\/perso.unamur.be\/~cguirkin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/DEADLY_ANCHOR_PUBLISHED_VERSION_EEH.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Deadly anchor: Gender bias under Russian colonization of Kazakhstan<\/a>,<\/strong>\u00a0<em>Explorations in Economic History,<\/em>\u00a0<em>49(4):399\u2013422<\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>with J.M. Baland and C. Mali, 2011, <\/strong><strong><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"http:\/\/perso.unamur.be\/~cguirkin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/EDCC2011_pretendingtobepoor.pdf\">Pretending to be poor: borrowing to escape forced solidarity in credit cooperatives in Cameroon<\/a><\/strong><strong>,<\/strong>\u00a0<em>Economic Development and Cultural Change, 60 <\/em>(1<em>).<\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>with D. Fletschner and S. Boucher, 2010, <\/strong><strong><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"http:\/\/perso.unamur.be\/~cguirkin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/JDS2010_creditconstraintsefficiency.pdf\">Risk, Credit Constraints and Financial Efficiency in Peruvian Agriculture<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0<em>Journal of Development Studies, 46<\/em><em>(6)<\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>with Boucher S. and C. Trivelli, 2009, <a style=\"color: #000000; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http:\/\/perso.unamur.be\/~cguirkin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/EDCC2009-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u00a0Direct Elicitation of Credit Constraints: Conceptual and Practical Issues with an Empirical Application<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0<em>Economic Development and Cultural Change, 57(4).<\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>2008 <span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"http:\/\/perso.unamur.be\/~cguirkin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/WD2008_formalinformalcredit.pdf\">Understanding the coexistence of formal and informal credit market in Piura, Peru<\/a><\/span><\/strong>,\u00a0<em>World Development<\/em>, <em>36(8).<\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>with \u00a0S. Boucher, 200<span style=\"color: #000000;\">8,<a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"http:\/\/perso.unamur.be\/~cguirkin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/AE2008_creditconstraintsproductivity.pdf\">\u00a0Risk, Credit Constraints and Productivity in Peruvian Agriculture<\/a>,<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0<em>Agricultural Economics, 39(3)<\/em>.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">w<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">ith S. Boucher and M. Carter, 2008, <a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"http:\/\/perso.unamur.be\/~cguirkin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/AJAE2008_riskrationing.pdf\">Risk Rationing and Wealth Effects in Credit Markets: Theory and Implications for Agricultural Development<\/a><\/span>,<\/strong><em>\u00a0American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 90(2).<\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>with S. Boucher, 2007, <span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"http:\/\/perso.unamur.be\/~cguirkin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/AJAE2007_risksectoralchoice.pdf\">Wealth, Risk and Sectoral Choice in Rural Credit Markets<\/a><\/span><\/strong>,\u00a0<em>American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 89(4)<\/em>.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h5><strong>On-going Projects<\/strong><\/h5>\n<ul class=\"list check\"><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Impacts of colonial policies on population structure and well-being in the long run in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (with B. Schoumaker)<\/strong> <strong>financed by the Fond National de la Recherche Scientifique.<\/strong>\u00a0 This project has three primary objectives. First, we will develop high-quality demographic and economic micro-databases for the period 1950 to 1984 in Congo\/Zaire. A major task involves digitizing photos of the original 1984 census questionnaires using recent AI advancements for automatic data extraction of hand-written information. This new database will be complemented by digitized records from the 1970s, existing databases on demographic and economic indicators, and pre-colonial cultural practices. Additionally, we will compile new data on colonial poll tax and forced labor, linking these to existing databases. These unique databases will open up extensive research possibilities for us and other research teams.<br \/>Second, leveraging this data, we will document trends and geographic disparities in demographic and economic outcomes, such as survival, education, marriage patterns, fertility, and occupation. A key focus will be on gender, aiming to understand how women&rsquo;s experiences have differed from men&rsquo;s over time and space and to explore historical determinants of gender gaps.<br \/>Third, we will combine demographic analysis, historical context, and economic theory to provide a comprehensive understanding of the long-term impacts of specific colonial policies on population structure and individual well-being. We will focus particularly on colonial education and health policies, as well as poll tax and labor policies. By examining the intensity of these policies across different regions and time periods, we can assess their effects on the individuals directly exposed to them and subsequent generations.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The Economics of Religious Conversion: Understanding the attraction of African Women to New Christian Churches (with P. Alvarez and J.P. Platteau) <\/strong>This research project investigates the link between religious conversion and women&rsquo;s empowerment in sub-Saharan Africa, with a focus on the rapid expansion of evangelical churches. Historically, economic development has involved the decline of kin-based institutions and the rise of new forms of community organization, including religious groups. In this context, the growing appeal of evangelical churches\u2014particularly among women\u2014raises critical questions. We hypothesize that for many women, conversion represents a means to emancipate themselves from patriarchal clan structures and restrictive traditional norms and that this emancipation is particularly critical when new economic opportunities emerge for women. Our approach is twofold. First, we explore the dynamics of religious conversion within households, including potential negotiations between spouses. Second, we assess the social and economic benefits derived from church membership, such as mutual aid, risk-sharing, and greater female agency in fertility and education decisions. Empirical strategies combine three methodologies: (1) analysis of DHS surveys to document gendered conversion patterns; (2) original survey data from Benin to capture motivations and consequences of conversion; and (3) lab-in-the-field experiments to test mechanisms related to solidarity, credit, and kin-taxation.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Husbands in the Room: The Impact of Joint vs. Women-Only Training on Household Dynamics in Benin (with P. Alvarez, A. Jolivet and A. L\u00fclle)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Bottom-up discrimination by gender: insights from Benin\u2019s pineapple sector (with A. L\u00fclle and J.P. Platteau)<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/ul>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Working Papers Publications &nbsp; On-going Projects<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/catherine.guirkinger.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/catherine.guirkinger.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/catherine.guirkinger.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catherine.guirkinger.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catherine.guirkinger.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2"}],"version-history":[{"count":101,"href":"https:\/\/catherine.guirkinger.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":720,"href":"https:\/\/catherine.guirkinger.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2\/revisions\/720"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/catherine.guirkinger.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}