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Curated by Project Syndicate

Piketty's Charge

19 commentaries

The English-language publication of Thomas Piketty's "Capital in the Twenty-First Century" has sparked widespread debate over the causes and consequences of rising inequality. Is Piketty's analysis mere fodder for professional economists, or will it move policymakers to act?

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  1. Thomas Piketty’s Japanese Tour

    Thomas Piketty’s Japanese Tour

    Mar 1, 2015 Yuriko Koike asks why income inequality has become more salient in one of the world's most egalitarian countries.

  2. Inheritance and Inequality
    Inequality Rich and Poor_Ian Wood Ian Wood/Flickr

    Inheritance and Inequality

    Oct 21, 2014 Edward N. Wolff refutes Thomas Piketty's argument that wealth transfers exacerbate inequality.

  3. Piketty’s Missing Rentiers
    Rich and poor on street Ice Man/Flickr

    Piketty’s Missing Rentiers

    Sep 18, 2014 Jeffrey Frankel says that inequality is rising, but not for the reason Thomas Piketty has given.

  4. Democracy in the Twenty-First Century
    American Sunset Russ Allison Loar/Flickr

    Democracy in the Twenty-First Century

    Sep 1, 2014 Joseph E. Stiglitz blames rising inequality on an ersatz form of capitalism that benefits only the rich.

  5. The Great Income Divide
    Poor Child on Street Henrik Berger Jorgensen/Flickr

    The Great Income Divide

    Jul 18, 2014 Kemal Derviş calls for potent policies to combat income inequality and strengthen social mobility.

  6. Piketty with Chinese Characteristics
    Thomas Piketty China domestic inequality Socialdemokraterna/flickr

    Piketty with Chinese Characteristics

    Jul 2, 2014 Andrew Sheng & Xiao Geng apply to China Thomas Piketty's framework for understanding the country's rising income inequality.

  1. goldberg33_Lauren DeCiccaGetty Images_shippinglaos Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images

    The Trade Shifts Redefining Economic Development

    Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg & Michele Ruta consider the long-term implications of three major trends that could reshape globalization.
  2. fischer224_Chip SomodevillaGetty Images_trumpinauguration Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

    Trump at the Gates

    Joschka Fischer urges Europeans to recognize that they are now on their own in an increasingly dangerous world.
  3. stiglitz347_Kevin DietschGettyImages_bye_biden Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

    The End of Progress?

    Joseph E. Stiglitz

    Though the United States has long led the world in advancing basic science and technology, it is hard to see how this can continue under President Donald Trump and the country’s ascendant oligarchy. America’s rejection of Enlightenment values will have dire consequences.

    predicts that Donald Trump’s second administration will be defined by its rejection of Enlightenment values.
  4. varoufakis123_China PhotosGetty Images_chinayuandollar China Photos/Getty Images

    China’s Trump Dilemma

    Yanis Varoufakis

    Will the China hawks in Donald Trump’s administration railroad him into a confrontation that transcends tariffs and embraces financial sanctions of the type the US and the European Union imposed on Russia? If they do, China's leaders will have to decide whether to decouple from the dollar-based international monetary system.

    thinks the real choice facing Chinese leaders may be whether to challenge the dollar's hegemony head-on.
  5. lamy10_Badru KatumbaGettyImages_jackfruit_farmer Badru Katumba/Getty Images

    The Key to Narrowing the Development Gap

    Pascal Lamy, et al. explain how investments in African agri-food systems can advance many of the Sustainable Development Goals.
  6. galbraith39_rudall30Getty Images_businessmanforest rudall30/Getty Images

    Economists’ Way Out of the Wilderness

    James K. Galbraith argues that the continued dominance of nineteenth-century thinking has resulted in a catalogue of failure.
  7. benami221_Justin SullivanGetty Images_trump Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

    Trump the Revolutionary Isolationist

    Shlomo Ben-Ami hears echoes of the Monroe Doctrine in the US president's threats to acquire Greenland.
  8. hubbard4_Chen MengtongChina News ServiceVCG via Getty Images_scottbessent Chen Mengtong/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images

    How the Trump Administration Can Hit Its Growth Target

    Glenn Hubbard urges policymakers to focus on the three pillars of increased productivity.
  9. oneill129_Saul LoebGettyImages_us_treasury Saul Loeb/Getty Images

    Trump’s First Test Will Be the Bond Market

    Jim O'Neill wonders if recent market signals will keep the new administration’s radicalism in check.

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