Francis Wilson (economist)


Francis Wilson is a South African economist. He is the son of the anthropologists Godfrey Wilson and Monica Wilson. Wilson attended St. Andrew's College, Grahamstown.
Wilson was a member of the academic teaching staff in the School of Economics at the University of Cape Town. He founded and was the director of the Southern African Labour and Development Research Unit. Wilson was a visiting professor at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. In 2001 Wilson chaired the International Social Science Council’s Scientific Committee of the International Comparative Research Program on Poverty.
Wilson was the Pro-Vice Chancellor of UCT in 2012.

Awards and honours

In 2016 Wilson was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Cape Town for his more than 30 years teaching at UCT’s School of Economics, where he made seminal contributions to unearthing the exploitation of South Africa’s migrant labourers, particularly in the gold mines.

Works