Dr. Nathalie Francken obtained her PhD in Economics on “Mass Media, Government Policies, and Economic Development in Madagascar” in 2007 at the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium. Dr. Francken also holds one Masters of Science in Economics and one Masters in Agricultural Engineering. Dr. Francken worked as Senior Economic Advisor at Irish Aid in Tanzania from August 2010 until August 2011 and prior to that, as Country Economist for Tanzania (based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania) and Djibouti (based in Tunis, Tunisia) for the African Development Bank (as part of the African Development Bank's Young Professionals Program) for 2.5 years. Before joining the African Development Bank, she worked as a Researcher/Consultant at LICOS – Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance, the Cornell University Food and Nutrition Policy Program in Madagascar, the World Bank in Washington D.C., and TRIAS NGO in El Salvador. Her research focuses on development economics, agricultural economics and political economy.