After undergraduate studies in law at the University of Bordeaux, Salin studied economics in Paris and graduated from the Instituts d'études politiques. 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, Poitiers, and Nantes. 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.[4]
In the 1960s and 1970s, Salin was influenced by Milton Friedman and monetarism, Jacques Rueff and his view of the international monetary order,[11] as well as Harry Gordon Johnson and his monetary approach to the balance of payments. Robert Mundell's work also played a part in Salin's own approach to economics, especially regarding the topics of supply-side economics and optimum currency areas. Salin aided in awarding Mundell the degree of Doctor Honoris Causa from the Université de Paris-Dauphine in 1992.[12] Salin and his colleague, Emil-Maria Claassen, contributed to the European research on these subjects throughout the 1960s and 1970s.
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.
^He stated in the 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."