Derick Blaauw professor in the School of Economics at the North-West University (Potchefstroom Campus). He previously lectured in the Department of Economics & Econometrics at the Rand Afrikaans University (RAU) and the University of Johannesburg (UJ) as well at the Soweto and Bloemfontein Campusses of Vista University.

Professor Blaauw authored and co-authored numerous national and international conference papers, working papers, research papers and other publications. He has numerous publications in national and international accredited journals to his credit in the fields of labour economics, development and well-being.

Professor Blaauw’s research interests include labour and development economics. He is primarily working on the functioning of the informal economy. His current work focusses on the socio-economic dynamics of vulnerable groupings in the informal economy e.g. car guards, day labourers, and waste pickers.