The bestselling French economist Thomas Piketty is to join a new institute investigating global inequality set up by the London School of Economics.
The LSE has announced that the author of Capital in the Twenty-First Century, last year’s publishing sensation in the social sciences, has been appointed centennial professor at its International Inequalities Institute (III).
Set up earlier this year, the III has been set up to look at why inequality has been rising across the world and to develop ways of responding to the growing gaps between rich and poor.
Piketty’s book said the level of inequality in the west had returned to levels seen in the late 19th century and was likely to become even more pronounced because wealth would grow more quickly than national output. He argued for a global wealth tax to counteract the trend.
“I am thrilled by my appointment to work in LSE’s new International Inequalities Institute,” Piketty said. “Rising inequalities is one of the great challenges of our time, which we desperately need to address. We have a unique opportunity at the LSE to create a truly dynamic and exciting interdisciplinary centre which will make a real difference to our understanding of the causes and consequences of inequality.”
Piketty, who is economics professor at the University of Paris, was a PhD student at the LSE in the early 1990s. He will collaborate on research and teach postgraduate students on a part-time basis.
Mike Savage, professor of sociology and co-director of the III, said: “Thomas Piketty has revolutionised our understanding of inequality through demonstrating how fundamental historical shifts towards escalating capital accumulation disproportionately enhance those who are already wealthy. This is a fantastic opportunity to establish the III and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with him.”
