Capital and Wealth in the Twenty-First Century

2015 ◽  
Vol 105 (5) ◽  
pp. 34-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
David N. Weil
Keyword(s):  
Human Capital ◽  
Capital Stock ◽  
Market Value ◽  
Capital Gains ◽  
First Century ◽  
Discount Rates ◽  
Income Ratio ◽  
Last 300 Years ◽  
Twenty First Century ◽  
Thomas Piketty

In Capital in the Twenty-First Century, Thomas Piketty uses the market value of tradable assets to measure both productive capital and wealth. As a measure of wealth this is problematic because it ignores the value of human capital and transfer wealth, which have grown enormously over the last 300 years. Thus the constancy of the wealth/income ratio as portrayed in his data is an illusion. Further, the types of wealth that he does not measure are more equally distributed than tradable assets. The approach also incorrectly identifies capital gains due to reduced discount rates as increases in the capital stock.

‘Inequality is not a Problem’: How (Some) Economists Responded to Thomas Piketty

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 359-374
Author(s):  
J. E. King
Keyword(s):  
Moral Philosophy ◽  
Social Costs ◽  
First Century ◽  
Distribution Of Wealth ◽  
Twenty First Century ◽  
Thomas Piketty

Abstract Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-First Century makes hardly any reference to the ethics of inequality. Surprisingly, this is an omission shared by most of his critics. In this paper I investigate the literature on which he and his reviewers might have drawn and speculate on the reasons why they did not. I outline the four ‘views of society’ and the related issues in moral philosophy that were presented by Michael Schneider in his book on the distribution of wealth. I then summarise the criticisms of Piketty made by those few reviewers who did show some interest in ethical questions and examine the slightly earlier and quite different case against reducing inequality made by one of these critics, N. Gregory Mankiw. I consider the economic, political and social costs of inequality identified in a book-length study of Piketty’s work by Steven Pressman, and conclude by reflecting on the reasons for the widespread neglect of moral philosophy by mainstream economists.

scholarly journals The Return of “Patrimonial Capitalism”: A Review of Thomas Piketty's Capital in the Twenty-First Century

2014 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 519-534 ◽  
Author(s):  
Branko Milanovic
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Historical Data ◽  
First Century ◽  
Data Series ◽  
Unified Theory ◽  
Income Distributions ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Economic Divergence ◽  
Twenty First Century ◽  
Thomas Piketty

Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty provides a unified theory of the functioning of the capitalist economy by linking theories of economic growth and functional and personal income distributions. It argues, based on the long-run historical data series, that the forces of economic divergence (including rising income inequality) tend to dominate in capitalism. It regards the twentieth century as an exception to this rule and proposes policies that would make capitalism sustainable in the twenty-first century. (JEL D31, D33, E25, N10, N30, P16)

Thomas Piketty: Capital in the twenty-first century

Public Choice ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 160 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 551-557 ◽  
Author(s):  
Randall G. Holcombe
Keyword(s):  
First Century ◽  
Twenty First Century ◽  
Thomas Piketty
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