Xavier Gabaix (born August 1971) is a French economist, currently the Pershing Square Professor of Economics and Finance at Harvard University.
Gabaix, along with Ralph Koijen, the AQR Capital Management Distinguished Service Professor of Finance and Fama Faculty Fellow at the University of Chicago, demonstrates that markets are not “elastic”, as textbooks say they should be.
"[5] He was the winner of the 2010 Bernacer Prize to the best European economist under 40 working in macro-finance for his original research contributions in financial and behavioral economics, including the consequences of seemingly irrational behavior on asset markets, and his analysis of the level of compensation of corporate executives.
[6] In 2011, he was awarded the Prix du meilleur jeune économiste de France, a prize awarded yearly to a French economist under forty years of age "who has combined recognized expertise with active participation in public debate".
In 2012, he was one of the recipients of the Lagrange Prize for research on complex systems, together with Lada Adamic, a specialist in social networks analysis.