Thomas Piketty’s research while affiliated with Process Systems Enterprise Limited and other places

The research shared by the World Inequality Database reveals alarming statistics for the backward classes/Dalits and tribals. This research highlights the growing socioeconomic inequality in the country. According to the report, a staggering 88.4% of the country's total wealth is held by the upper castes, while the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) hold a mere 9.0%, and the Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) have an even smaller share of only 2.6%. This stark disparity highlights the deep-rooted socioeconomic inequalities prevalent in the country. In 2013, the OBCs had a 17.3% share of the nation's wealth, but this figure drastically decreased to just 9% by 2022. This significant decline underscores the diminishing economic power of the OBCs over the past decade. Small and medium-sized businesses, often the backbone of local economies and a vital source of livelihood for many in these communities, are continuously declining. This decline is exacerbated by governmental policies that have not favoured these enterprises. Furthermore, agriculture, traditionally the primary occupation for a significant portion of the population, is increasingly becoming a losing proposition. Farmers are facing immense challenges due to unfavourable government policies, leading to widespread devastation in rural areas. These policies have not only failed to support the agricultural sector but have also contributed to the financial ruin of countless farmers. The combination of declining business opportunities and a struggling agricultural sector paints a grim picture for the economic prospects of OBCs, SCs, and STs. It is imperative that policies be re-evaluated and restructured to address these inequalities and provide meaningful support to these communities. Ensuring fair economic opportunities and promoting sustainable growth in both small businesses and agriculture are crucial steps toward achieving a more equitable distribution of wealth and reducing socioeconomic disparities.

We construct series of posttax income for France over the 1900–2018 period and compare them with US series. We quantify the extent of redistribution—the reduction from pretax to posttax inequality—and estimate the contribution of redistribution in explaining differences in posttax inequality. We find that differences in pretax inequality drive most of the differences in posttax inequality between France and the United States, and that changes over time in both countries are mostly due to changes in pretax inequality. We highlight that the concept of redistribution can be empirically misleading for judging how policies reduce inequalities. (JEL D31, H23, H24, H31, I38)

Fiscal federalism refers to the division or distribution of fiscal powers between different levels of government. In the context of the European Union, it provides a framework to explore the foundations and evolution of the Union’s (limited) fiscal powers across different areas of EU competence. The European Union is often seen as a legislative giant on clay feet, and one of the principal reasons for this feebleness is the lack of a significant fiscal capacity at the Union level. In the long term, the current state of affairs may prove itself unsustainable, in light of the need to ensure the macroeconomic stability of the Euro area and of calls to transfer further redistributional tasks to the European level. The ongoing—and highly topical—discussion on greater fiscal union has taken place mostly within the realm of the EU’s Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). This discussion should, however, be seen as a part of a bigger picture and, in historical perspective, one that also takes into account the role of fiscal matters in other areas of EU competence. This edited volume brings together an international and distinguished group of scholars to analyse the different legal dimensions of fiscal federalism within the European Union, from the various aspects of the single market (free movement, banking union, state aid, tax) to the EU’s budget and EMU.

This paper reviews recent developments in the theory and practice of optimal capital taxation. We emphasize three main rationales for capital taxation. First, the frontier between capital and labour income flows is often fuzzy, thereby lending support to a broad-based, comprehensive income tax. Next, the very notions of income and consumption flows are difficult to define and measure for top wealth holders where capital gains due to asset price effects dwarf ordinary income and consumption flows. Therefore the proper way to tax billionaires is a progressive wealth tax. Finally, as individuals cannot choose their parents, there are strong meritocratic reasons why we should tax inherited wealth more than earned income or self-made wealth for which individuals can be held responsible, at least in part. This implies that the ideal fiscal system should also include a progressive inheritance tax, in addition to progressive income and wealth taxes. We then confront our prescriptions with historical experience. Although there are significant differences, we argue that observed fiscal systems in modern democracies bear important similarities with this ideal triptych.

The objective of this paper is to better understand the evolution and institutional roots of Hong Kong's growing economic inequality and political cleavages. By combining multiple sources of data (household surveys, fiscal data, wealth rankings, national accounts) and methodological innovations, two main findings are obtained. First, he evidence suggests a very large rise in income and wealth inequality in Hong Kong over the last four decades. Second, based on the latest opinion poll data, business elites, who carry disproportionate weight in Hong Kong's Legislative Council, are found to be more likely to vote for the pro-establishment camp (presumably to ensure that policies are passed that protect their political and economic interests). This paper argues that the unique alliance of government and business elites in a partially democratic political system is the plausible institutional root of Hong Kong's rising inequality and political cleavages.

This article first describes the main developments in measuring the upper tail of the income and wealth distributions over the last twenty years. Second, it points out some of the key methodological challenges and how better data could address them. Third, it discusses the academic and policy impacts of upper tail measurement.

This short concluding essay reflects on the application of ideas about capital accumulation and inequality to the societies of classical antiquity, and the relevance of Greco-Roman antiquity to the broader study of capital and inequality.KeywordsCapitalInequality