Dr Thomas Marois

Thomas Marois is a Reader in Development Studies, SOAS University of London, who specialises in political economy. Thomas is a world-leading researcher on public banks and the financing of green & just transitions in ways that bridge north/south divides. He is author of the new book, Public Banks: Decarbonisation, Definancialisation, and Democratisation (2021, Cambridge University Press) and co-editor of the 2020 book, Public Banks and Covid-19: Combatting the Pandemic With Public Finance. Thomas has written articles for such top-ranked academic journals as Review of Political Economy, The China Quarterly, The Journal of Peasant Studies, Environment and Planning, Water Alternatives, and Review of International Political Economy. He is a research associate with the Municipal Services Project, a global network of researchers investigating public alternatives to privatisation and commercialisation. He works closely with research institutes like the Transnational Institute, Amsterdam and the Democracy Collaborative, Washington, as well as with UNCTAD, Geneva and with numerous public financial institutions around the globe. Thomas sits on the Advisory Board of the Public Banking Institute. He has worked in the NGO, private, and public sectors in Canada and Latin America. Thomas is of Canadian Métis ancestry.

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My research has to date focused on a critique of neoliberal and finance-led strategies of development in emerging capitalisms. This continues to form a significant part of my research program. However, I am increasingly concerned with investigating existing public sector and cooperative alternatives to neoliberalism, particularly in the area of finance and banking. To this end, I am a member of the Municipal Services Project (www.municipalservicesproject.org/), a global network of researchers investigating public alternatives to privatisation and commercialisation. I am interested in supervising students who are exploring critical aspects of development