Xavier Sala-i-Martin
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| Birth | June 17, 1962 (Cabrera de Mar,Catalonia, Spain) |
| Nationality | American [1] |
| Field | Macroeconomics |
| Contributions | Economic growth Libertarianism |
Xavier Sala-i-Martin (born June 17, 1962, Cabrera de Mar, Barcelona, Spain) is a Spanish (Catalan) born professor of economics at Columbia University.
Sala-i-Martin earned his Llicenciatura (degree) from the Autonomous University of Barcelona in 1985 and his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1990, both in economics. In addition to working at Columbia, he has been a professor at Yale University, Harvard University, and the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona (which he still visits for a term every year). He is also an Affiliated Professor at the Barcelona Graduate School of Economics.
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[edit] Professional work
Sala-i-Martin is consistently ranked among the most-cited economists in the world for works produced in the 1990s.[2][3] His works include the topics of economic growth, development in Africa, monetary economics, social security, health and economics, classical-liberal thinking (with his book "Liberal economics for non-economists and non-liberals") (the "liberal" in the title should be understood in the classic liberal/libertarian sense), and convergence. He has constructed the best estimate to date of the World Distribution of Income, which he has then used to estimate poverty rates and measures of inequality. The conclusions of this study challenged the conventional wisdom in two dimensions. First, the United Nations and the World Bank used to believe that, although poverty rates were falling, the total number of poor people was increasing. Sala-i-Martin claimed that both were falling. Second, the United Nations and the World Bank used to believe that individual income inequalities were on the rise. Sala-i-Martin claimed they were not.[4]
Known for his flamboyant personality and wardrobe, he co-wrote the textbook Economic Growth with Robert Barro. He also is a columnist for the Catalan newspaper La Vanguardia, where he is often very critical of the policies of the Spanish government.
Sala-i-Martin is, with Elsa V. Artadi, the author of the update, used since 2004, of the World Competitiveness Index published by the World Economic Forum, an index used since 1979 that ranks more than 120 countries by their level of economic competitiveness.
[edit] Activities besides economics
Sala-i-Martin is the president of the Economic Commission of the FC Barcelona. He was the President of the Club's management committee during the 2006 Electoral Process that lead to the second mandate of Joan Laporta. During this period the club won the Supercopa de España against his local rival RCD Espanyol. Since April 23, 2009 Xavier is in the chairman's Joan Laporta board.
He is also known for his contributions to the Spanish media on topics such as politics (especially related to Catalonia), and a variety of topics. In addition, Sala-i-Martin declares himself Catalan independentist.
Sala-i-Martin is the founder of "Umbele: A Future for Africa," a non-profit organization that promotes economic development in Africa, as well as of the nonprofit organization "CEOs Without Borders."
[edit] Prizes
Sala-i-Martin has been recognized with a "Distinguished Teacher in Graduate Economics" award 3 times, both at Columbia and at Yale, with the King Juan Carlos I prize 2004 (a biannual prize given to the best economist in Spain and Latin America), and the Lenfest Prize 2006 awarded to the best teacher at Columbia University.
[edit] References
- ^ Tv interview in the Catalan Television were Sala-i-Martin tells that his only citzenship is the American one. In tv3.cat in (Catalan)
- ^ [1] 100 Most-Cited Researchers in Economics, ISE Essential Science Indicators, 2002
- ^ [2] Worldwide Rankings of Economists and Economics Departments, Tom Coupe, 2002
- ^ [3] Global Inequality Fades as the Global Economy Grows, Heritage.org, Xavier Sala-i-Martin, 2002
