Thomas Marois

Thomas Marois is a Professor of Political Economy in the Department of Political Science, McMaster University and former Reader in Development Studies, SOAS University of London. 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 2021 book Public Banks: Decarbonisation, Definancialisation, and Democratisation (Cambridge University Press), which was awarded a 2022-23 Joan Robinson Prize for Best Book by the European Association for Evolutionary Political Economy (EAEPE). co-editor of the 2023 book, Public Banks, Public Water: Exploring the Links in Europe, and 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 Knowledge Advisory Group of the Finance in Common Summit and on the Advisory Board of the Public Banking Institute. From 2023 to 2025, Thomas has been invited to sit on the Council of Europe Development Bank jury for the Annual Social Cohesion Award. He has worked in the NGO, private, and public sectors in Canada and Latin America. Thomas is Métis from the Edmonton/St/Albert/Villeneuve area of Alberta.