Pascal Salin (born May 16, 1939) is a French economist, professor ''
emeritus
''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus".
In some c ...
'' at the
Université Paris-Dauphine
Paris Dauphine University - PSL () is a Grande École and public institution of higher education and research based in Paris, France, constituent college of PSL University. As of 2022, Dauphine has 9,400 students in 8 fields of study (law, econo ...
and a specialist in
public finance
Public finance refers to the monetary resources available to governments and also to the study of finance within government and role of the government in the economy. Within academic settings, public finance is a widely studied subject in man ...
and monetary economics. He is a former president of the
Mont Pelerin Society
The Mont Pelerin Society (MPS), founded in 1947, is an international academic society of Economist, economists, Political philosophy, political philosophers, and other Intelligentsia, intellectuals who share a classical liberal outlook. It is hea ...
(1994 to 1996).
Biography
After undergraduate studies in law at the
University of Bordeaux
The University of Bordeaux (, ) is a public research university based in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France.
It has several campuses in the cities and towns of Bordeaux, Dax, Gradignan, Périgueux, Pessac, and Talence. There are al ...
, Salin studied economics in Paris and graduated from the
Instituts d'études politiques
Instituts d'études politiques (; ), or IEP's, colloquially referred to as Sciences Po, are ten publicly owned institutions of higher learning in France. They are located in Aix-en-Provence, Bordeaux, Grenoble, Lille, Lyon, Paris, Rennes, Strasbou ...
. While graduating in sociology with a ''licence'', he started a doctorate in economics and obtained his ''agrégation d'économie''. At the age of 22, he lectured in economics at the universities of
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
,
Poitiers
Poitiers is a city on the river Clain in west-central France. It is a commune in France, commune, the capital of the Vienne (department), Vienne department and the historical center of Poitou, Poitou Province. In 2021, it had a population of 9 ...
, and
Nantes
Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...
. In 1970, he became University Professor at the Université Paris-Dauphine where he stayed until his retirement in 2009. At Dauphine he co-founded the ''Jean-Baptiste Say research center in economics''.
Salin has been a consultant for the
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...
, the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
, the
Food and Agriculture Organization
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security. Its Latin motto, , translates ...
, and the
Harvard Institute for International Development
The Harvard Institute for International Development (HIID) was a think-tank dedicated to helping nations join the global economy, operating between 1974 and 2000. It was a center within Harvard University, United States.
Foundation and leadership ...
. He is a frequent contributor to the French newspapers ''
Le Figaro
() is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It was named after Figaro, a character in several plays by polymath Pierre Beaumarchais, Beaumarchais (1732–1799): ''Le Barbier de Séville'', ''The Guilty Mother, La Mère coupable'', ...
'' and ''
Les Echos''. He has published several articles in many other French media outlets such as ''
Le Monde
(; ) is a mass media in France, French daily afternoon list of newspapers in France, newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average print circulation, circulation of 480,000 copies per issue in 2022, including ...
''. He also publishes in the ''
Wall Street Journal Europe''.
Mathieu Laine
Mathieu Laine (; born 9 April 1975) is a French entrepreneur and intellectual.
He is the founder and head of Altermind, a boutique consultancy firm based in Paris, London, Brussels and Berlin.
Laine is an affiliate professor at Sciences Po Pa ...
and
Jörg Guido Hülsmann
Jörg Guido Hülsmann (; born 18 May 1966) is a German-born economist who studies issues related to money, banking, monetary policy, macroeconomics, and financial markets. Hülsmann is professor of economics at the University of Angers’ School ...
co-edited a ''
festschrift
In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...
'' in honor of Salin in 2006. He was made ''
Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur
The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...
'' and ''
Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres
The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant ...
'', as well as ''
Officier des Palmes Académiques''. He was awarded the ''
Prix renaissance de l'économie'' in 1986.
Work
In the 1960s and 1970s, Salin was influenced by
Milton Friedman
Milton Friedman (; July 31, 1912 – November 16, 2006) was an American economist and statistician who received the 1976 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his research on consumption analysis, monetary history and theory and ...
and monetarism,
Jacques Rueff
Jacques Léon Rueff (23 August 1896 – 23 April 1978) was a French economist and adviser to the French government.
Life
An influential French conservative and free market thinker, Rueff was born the son of a well known Parisian physician and ...
and his view of the international monetary order, as well as
Harry Gordon Johnson
Harry Gordon Johnson, (26 May 1923 – 9 May 1977) was a Canadian economist who studied topics such as international trade and international finance.
Nobel laureate James Tobin said about him: "For the economics profession throughout the world ...
and his monetary approach to the balance of payments.
Robert Mundell
Robert Alexander Mundell (October 24, 1932 – April 4, 2021) was a Canadian economist. He was a professor of economics at Columbia University and the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences i ...
's work also played a part in Salin's own approach to economics, especially regarding the topics of
supply-side economics
Supply-side economics is a Macroeconomics, macroeconomic theory postulating that economic growth can be most effectively fostered by Tax cuts, lowering taxes, Deregulation, decreasing regulation, and allowing free trade. According to supply- ...
and
optimum currency areas. Salin aided in awarding Mundell the degree of
Doctor Honoris Causa
An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...
from the Université de Paris-Dauphine in 1992. Salin and his colleague, Emil-Maria Claassen, contributed to the European research on these subjects throughout the 1960s and 1970s.
Salin later became interested in the Austrian school of economics. In addition to
Friedrich Hayek
Friedrich August von Hayek (8 May 1899 – 23 March 1992) was an Austrian-born British academic and philosopher. He is known for his contributions to political economy, political philosophy and intellectual history. Hayek shared the 1974 Nobe ...
, who was one of Salin's intellectual mentors, Salin has been influenced by the works of
Frédéric Bastiat
Claude-Frédéric Bastiat (; ; 30 June 1801 – 24 December 1850) was a French economist, writer and a prominent member of the French liberal school.
A member of the French National Assembly, Bastiat developed the economic concept of opportun ...
,
Israel Kirzner
Israel Meir Kirzner (also Yisroel Mayer Kirzner ; born February 13, 1930) is a British-born American economist, historian, rabbi, and Talmudist closely identified with the Austrian School.
Early life and education
The son of a well-known rabbi a ...
,
Ludwig von Mises
Ludwig Heinrich Edler von Mises (; ; September 29, 1881 – October 10, 1973) was an Austrian-American political economist and philosopher of the Austrian school. Mises wrote and lectured extensively on the social contributions of classical l ...
,
Murray Rothbard
Murray Newton Rothbard (; March 2, 1926 – January 7, 1995) was an American economist of the Austrian School,Ronald Hamowy, ed., 2008, The Encyclopedia of Libertarianism', Cato Institute, Sage, , p. 62: "a leading economist of the Austri ...
, and
Jean-Baptiste Say
Jean-Baptiste () is a male French name, originating with Saint John the Baptist, and sometimes shortened to Baptiste. The name may refer to any of the following:
Persons
* Charles XIV John of Sweden, born Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte, was K ...
. Salin opposes
full-reserve banking
Full-reserve banking (also known as 100% reserve banking, or sovereign money system) is a system of banking where banks do not lend Demand deposit, demand deposits and instead only lend from time deposits. It differs from fractional-reserve bankin ...
and supports unregulated
free banking and fractional reserves. He rejects the theory of
John Maynard Keynes
John Maynard Keynes, 1st Baron Keynes ( ; 5 June 1883 – 21 April 1946), was an English economist and philosopher whose ideas fundamentally changed the theory and practice of macroeconomics and the economic policies of governments. Originall ...
and sees it as an aberration in the evolution of economic ideas.
[He stated in th]
''Quebecois Libre''
"La théorie keynésienne représente une aberration dans l'histoire des idées économiques. Elle repose en effet sur une approche directement en termes collectifs (par définition de variables macroéconomiques) en ignorant le caractère rationnel et volontaire de l'action humane."
Selected bibliography
Salin publishes primarily in French and has mostly published works in monetary theory and policy. In the 1970s and 1980s, he authored many articles on the European monetary system. In recent years, he has published books defending the system of free enterprise and the philosophy of classical liberalism in France.
Among his works of note are:
* ''Revenir au capitalisme : Pour éviter les crises'', Odile Jacob, (2010)
* ''Français, n'ayez pas peur du libéralisme'', Odile Jacob, (2007)
* ''L'arbitraire fiscal ou comment sortir de la crise'' (1996)
* ''La concurrence'' (1995)
* ''Libre-échange et protectionnisme'' (1991)
* ''Macroéconomie'' (1991)
* ''La vérité sur la monnaie'' (1990)
* ''L'ordre monétaire mondial'' (1982)
* ''L'unité monétaire au profit de qui?'' (1980)
* ''Recent Issues in International Monetary Economics'', New York: North-Holland (1976) with Emil-Maria Claassen, eds.
* ''Stabilization Policies in Interdependent Economies'', Amsterdam: North-Holland Pub. Co. (1972) with Emil-Maria Claassen.
Notes
External links
*
*
Pascal Salin's portrait by the Mises Institute
{{DEFAULTSORT:Salin, Pascal
Austrian School economists
1939 births
French classical liberal economists
Mises Institute people
Living people
Member of the Mont Pelerin Society