Professor Sala-i-Martin is recognized as one of the greatest economists in the world. He teaches at Columbia University and is the Chief Economic Advisor of the Competitiveness Program at the World Economic Forum. He is the author and creator of the prestigious intellectual Global Competitiveness Index (GCI).
He is recognized as the leading expert on issues of competitiveness. Since 2003 has led the Global Competitiveness Report, document published annually by the World Economic Forum. In 2003 he replaced Michael Porter and Jeffrey Sachs at the World Economic Forum, leading the Global Competitiveness Report. In fact, Professor Sala-i-Martin created the Global Competitiveness Index. Governments, business leaders from all over the world use the index to evaluate and design future competitiveness policies of their nations.
Before going to Columbia, Xavier taught at Yale and Harvard, and was researcher at the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) in London and the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He studied economics in Barcelona and completed his doctorate at Harvard University in the United States. He has received numerous awards among which the Arrow Prize awarded to the best health economist in the world by the International Health Economics Organization and the Juan Carlos Prize in Economics awarded to the best economist in Spain and Latin America by the Bank of Spain.
From 2003 to 2010 he was a member of the Board, Treasurer and President of the Economic Commission of FC Barcelona. He participated in the creation of what many experts have called the best football team of all time. In 2009, Barça won 6 championships in which he participated. No other team in history had accomplished this impressive feat.
Being an experienced teacher explains clearly and present complex ideas in an easy to understand format. Although there are many brilliant economists, few can explain and analyze with ease and eloquence with which it does Professor Sal-i-Martin. His presentations are reputed to be pleasant and bathed with high doses of humor and entertainment without leaving the rigor and seriousness and have a great demand on the lecture circuit around the world.
