After Piketty

Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-First Century is the most widely discussed work of economics in recent history, selling millions of copies in dozens of languages. But are its analyses of inequality and economic growth on target? Where should researchers go from here in exploring the ideas Piketty pushed to the forefront of global conversation? A cast of economists and other social scientists tackle these questions in dialogue with Piketty, in what is sure to be a much-debated book in its own right.

After Piketty opens with a discussion by Arthur Goldhammer, the book’s translator, of the reasons for Capital’s phenomenal success, followed by the published reviews of Nobel laureates Paul Krugman and Robert Solow. The rest of the book is devoted to newly commissioned essays that interrogate Piketty’s arguments. Suresh Naidu and other contributors ask whether Piketty said enough about power, slavery, and the complex nature of capital. Laura Tyson and Michael Spence consider the impact of technology on inequality. Heather Boushey, Branko Milanovic, and others consider topics ranging from gender to trends in the global South. Emmanuel Saez lays out an agenda for future research on inequality, while a variety of essayists examine the book’s implications for the social sciences more broadly. Piketty replies to these questions in a substantial concluding chapter.

An indispensable interdisciplinary work, After Piketty does not shy away from the seemingly intractable problems that made Capital in the Twenty-First Century so compelling for so many.


Click here to purchase After Piketty: The Agenda for Economics and Inequality from Harvard University Press.


Resources

Panel
After Piketty: Tackling 21st century inequality at home and abroad, Resolution Foundation, featuring Torsten Bell, Heather Boushey, Ed Miliband, and Martin Sandbu. Archived video of the June 28, 2017 event.

Panel
After Piketty Panel, with Heather Boushey, Paul Krugman, Branko Milanovic, and Salvatore Morelli. Archived video of the May 11, 2017 event.

Excerpt
After Piketty: “A Political Economy Take on W/Y”, Washington Center for Equitable Growth, May 10, 2017.

Excerpt
Excerpt from After Piketty, Washington Center for Equitable Growth, May 4, 2017.

In Conversation
Equitable Growth in Conversation with Brad DeLong and Marshall Steinbaum, Washington Center for Equitable Growth, April 27, 2017.

Event
The Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality and the Washington Center for Equitable Growth co-hosted an event on After Piketty: The Agenda for Economics and Inequality on May 11, 2017 . Video from the event will be available shortly. 


Media Mentions

Review
A new anthology of essays reconsiders Thomas Piketty’s “Capital”, The Economist, May 18, 2017.

Review
Go wild, please, Breakingviews, May 12, 2017.

Review
Piketty’s Capital Was So Popular There’s a Sequel, Bloomberg Businessweek, May 8, 2017.

Event
CUNY Graduate Center, live stream of Heather Boushey, Paul Krugman, Branko Milanovic, and Suresh Naidu discussing After Piketty.

Review
Contradictions of Capital, The Chronicle of Higher Education, April 23, 2017.

Review
After Piketty, Nature 543, March 16, 2017.