Catherine Eckel Ph.D.

Catherine C. Eckel is Sara & John Lindsey Professor of Economics and Director of the Initiative on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy at Texas A&M University.  Her research bridges economics, psychology and sociology, and uses experimental methods to investigate differences in the behavior of women and men, gender- and race-based discrimination, charitable giving, trust and reciprocity, and attitudes toward risk, among other topics. In 2012 she received the Carolyn Shaw Bell Award from the Committee on the Status of Women of the American Economic Association for her efforts to advance women in economics.  She is past president of the Southern Economic Association and North American Vice President of the Economic Science Association, and was co-editor of the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization (2005-2012). Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation and various private foundations.  She was Ashbel Smith Professor of Economics and Director of the Center for Behavioral and Experimental Economic Science at the University of Texas at Dallas (2005-2012), and Professor of Economics and director of the Lab for the Study of Human Thought and Action at Virginia Tech (1983-2005). From 1996-1998, she also served as a program officer for the Economics Program at the National Science Foundation. Her PhD in Economics is from the University of Virginia in 1983.