Xavier Sala-i-Martin
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Xavier Sala i Martín (b. Cabrera de Mar, Barcelona, Spain, 1963) is a Catalan Spanish 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, and the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona.
Sala-i-Martin was ranked 8th in the top 1000 most-cited economists in the world over the last ten years. 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"), and Catalonia's fiscal deficit. He has been a major proponent of the view that economic inequality and poverty have both decreased globally over the last three decades.
Known for his colorful personality and wardrobe, he co-wrote the textbook Economic Growth with Robert Barro.
Sala-i-Martin has been recognized with a "Distinguished Teacher in Graduate Economics" award 3 times, both at Columbia and at Yale and with the King Juan Carlos I prize 2004 (a biannual prize given to the best economist in Spain and Latin America).
Sala-i-Martin was acting president of European Champions FC Barcelona in 2006 until Mr. Laporta was reelected.
