Prof. Joseph Francois

Joseph Francois is a Professor of Economics and Director at the World Trade Institute (WTI). He currently coordinates the establishment of the WTI’s dedicated program on the regulation of private commerce (trade and investment) in space. He previously served as Managing Director of the WTI from 2015 to 2025 and as Deputy Director of the NCCR Trade Regulation.

Professor Francois is a Fellow of the Centre for Economic Policy Research (London), Director of the European Trade Study Group, and Chair of the Scientific Advisory Committee for the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP). He is a lead editor of the forthcoming volume Regulating Space-Based Commerce: Insights from Economics and International Economic Law (Hart Publishing, 2026).

His past professional roles include Professor of Economics Theory at the Johannes Kepler Universität Linz, Professor of Economics at Erasmus University, Research Economist for the World Trade Organization (WTO), and Chief of Research and Director of Economics for the U.S. International Trade Commission.

Current Research & Projects: His current research focuses on the outer-space regulatory boundaries for investment and trade. This interdisciplinary work addresses the "qualitative shift" in orbital commerce and seeks to uncover the scope conditions for stable international space treaties. Other interests include: Regulation of firm behavior and strategic industrial policy; The impact of policy uncertainty on international investment; Cross-border production chains and global economic governance.

For media inquiries, please contact Sam Suarez.

For administrative inquiries please contact the WTI Administration team.